That's What I Go To School For
by SquintandProud-x
Summary: A HUMAN HIGH SCHOOL FIC! Follow the twists and turns as Buffy & Angel, two neighbours who love to annoy each other, realise their friendship is something much stronger. Therapy, Robot Babies & Humour is ensured! R&R!
1. Chapter 1

I was going to kill him.

I stood in front of the classroom where registration was held, staring in disbelief at the photo of myself stuck on the door. It wasn't a recent photo – oh no, he wouldn't have been _that _kind – instead it was a photograph of myself as a one year old, sat naked in a paddling pool. I was pretty sure that I would die of embarrassment right there in the middle of the corridor. I reached towards the photograph and tried to rip it off. Although, I had to give the moron credit; I found that the picture was stuck to the door with _superglue. _I heard a bunch of freshman's giggle quietly behind me. A small growl slipped through my lips, resulting in the group of girls to speed off down the corridor.

I knew that it was no use – the picture was not going to come off. I threw open the door and stormed inside, slamming it loudly behind me. Everyone looked up; some people smirked, others looked sympathetic. Though, right at the back, a boy sat with a victory grin spread across his face. I ignored my form teacher, who was ranting about my lateness, and stomped angrily towards the back of the classroom, ignoring the stares.

'Seriously? Baby pictures? Where the hell did you get them from?' I growled.

Angel laughed, his eyes shining with amusement. If it wasn't for the fact that everyone was watching and Principle Snyder wanted me expelled anyway I would have punched him in the face right there. I guess it was his lucky day.

'All I had to do was ask Joyce politely,' smiled Angel, showing off his pearly whites.

I made a mental note to forbid Mom from talking to Angel.

Angel and I were next door neighbours. We had known each other since we were in diapers. Our parents had always expected us to start dating or something like that, although they had completely given up the idea when they realised we loathed each other. Angel and I always annoyed one another – in fact we were kind of famous for it in school. Like the baby photograph incident, we enjoyed making the other one suffer. Our parents constantly had to put up with our bickering and pranks. No one knew why we hated each other, heck – even Angel and I didn't know. I guess it was just one of those things.

'Yeah, well – just wait! I'm pretty sure Tara would be helpful if I batted my eyelashes,' I said, smirking.

Tara was Angel's Mom. She was very fond of me, often finding my pranks that I pulled on Angel amusing. Her and my Mother were best friends, constantly around each others houses drinking cups of coffees and eating biscuits. Sometimes she dragged Angel along with her, making us two sit together for an hour at the table, whilst we kicked each other repeatedly under it. Angel's Dad was fond of me as well. Wesley, as he preferred me calling him, sometimes gave me ideas for pranks and often loved watching me press Angel's buttons.

Angel's eyes narrowed. I stared back, my jaw set tightly.

'Miss Lehane – thirteen minutes late is unacceptable!' shouted my form teacher.

I tore my eyes away from Angel to see Faith walking towards us, rolling her eyes as the teacher continued to snap at her. When he finally gave up, dropping back into his chair with a sigh, Faith's eyes twinkled in amusement. She bent down in between mine and Angel's desks, gripping both of them to keep her steady, and turned her body to face Angel slightly.

'Baby pictures, huh?' she chuckled.

I groaned and sunk further into my seat, wishing I could become invisible to the human eye.

'Yep,' Angel grinned.

Faith laughed and turned to me. 'B, I don't know if you know, but that picture is glued onto _every single _door in the school.'

I dropped my head on the desk with a loud thud.

--------------

'Hey Summers! You can sit in my paddling pool naked any day!'

I forced myself to not kick the guy in the balls as I walked into the canteen. It seemed that everyone had found the pictures amusing – even Willow who tried her hardest not to show it – and even some teachers had attempted to make a joke out of it. The worst part was when I saw Spike running down the corridor with a huge t-shirt with the baby picture of me on it. When I grabbed him by the collar and asked him what the hell he was playing at, he informed me that Angel paid him twenty dollars to run around in the t-shirt. Then, before fourth period, Xander told me about how Angel had sold the exact same t-shirts to anyone who would buy them. After that Cordelia had gone round offering every lad a free kiss on the cheek if they returned the t-shirts to her. I owed Cordelia _huge _for that. In fact, I almost felt sorry for her when she told me of the people she had to kiss.

I looked over towards the back of the canteen. I saw Willow, Oz, Angel and Cordelia already sat there, munching down the food on their trays. I quickly grabbed a box of pasta, an apple and a diet coke before heading over. Just as I was about to reach the table, a huge figure stood in my way.

'Summers, would you sign my picture for me?'

I looked down to see the photo of me in the paddling pool in his hands. I looked back up at the guy, who I didn't even know, and shook my head, stepping to the side to get around him.

'You have a bangin' body!' he grinned idiotically, standing in my way again.

I forced myself to not go physco – especially as it looked like that was the exact response he would want.

'Listen, Jeremy, if you do not move then I will boot you in the nuts _so _hard that you'll be in the hospital for months.'

I thanked God as Faith stood by my side, holding her own tray of food, with a very serious expression. Jeremy – as I found out he was called – gulped, his hands hovering over his private parts, as he slowly backed away. Faith gave a small cough, nodding towards the photo in his hand. In one swift movement, the photo was ripped in half and passed over to Faith.

'Thank you,' said Faith sweetly.

Jeremy nodded, turned and ran quickly out of the canteen. Faith chuckled and began to walk to the table. I followed behind, thanking her quietly, and took a seat in between her and Willow. Spike, Xander and Anya had arrived now, already deeply into the conversation at the table.

'What happened there?' Willow whispered into my ear.

'I'll tell you later,' I replied, my eyes flickering in the direction of Angel – who was making it quite obvious that he was listening.

Willow nodded, dropping the subject immediately. I leant back in my chair and opened my diet coke, taking a long swig from it. I suddenly heard a pair of footsteps heading towards our table. How did I know they were heading for our table? Because they were the same loud high-heeled footsteps that visited our table every day. I noticed everyone roll their eyes instantly as the footsteps became more pronounced. Angel dropped his head in his hands, shaking his head.

'I love your dress, Darla, where did you get it from?' Cordelia complimented.

Faith and I smirked at Cordelia, who – by the look in her eyes – did not love the dress Darla was wearing at all. Cordelia disliked Darla even more than the rest of us, mainly because Darla thought she was prettier than Cordelia and loved pointing that out to people.

'Daddy took me to-'

'That's lovely,' interrupted Cordelia, not wanting to get her started off on an 'I'm-richer-than-you' story.

I could almost hear Darla grinding her teeth together and, judging by the satisfied smirk on Cordelia's face, she was obviously giving her a huge dirty look. Xander and Anya rose from their seats, taking their empty trays, and saying their goodbyes. Anya usually said something daft that would infuriate Darla – it was best if Anya stayed clear off her. I noticed Angel push his chair back slowly, trying his best not to draw any attention to himself, although a horrible scraping sound erupted from his chair, and Darla's eyes flashed straight to him.

Without turning around, I could imagine the sickly sweet smile covering her ugly face.

'Hey Angel!'

I watched as Spike and Faith pretended to vomit on their trays. Oz snorted loudly, however Darla seemed to involved with Angel to notice anything.

'Hi Darla,' said Angel, less enthusiastic.

Darla was like a little obsessed Labrador puppy – except, I guess that was kind of an insult to all the Labrador puppies out there. She was _obsessed _with Angel and everything he did. She would find every excuse, any moment, to talk to him. You would think that she would take a hint and realise that he didn't like her. But, nope, she already has herself convinced that he is truly, madly, and deeply in love with her. Even though I hated the git – I felt sorry for him.

'Are you doing anything this weekend?' asked Darla.

Spike began to choke on thin air. Oz thumped him on the back a few times until he was able to breathe normally again. Faith snorted and gazed at Angel, waiting for his response. Willow leaned back in her chair, suddenly finding the pattern on the table very interesting. Whilst Cordelia looked her up and down – probably trying to calculate how much her outfit cost. Angel looked up at me with wide eyes, his brown orbs pleading me silently. I sighed – he would owe me for this.

'He can't, Darla, I'm so sorry. You see, me and Angel are babysitting this weekend,' I said, not even bothering to turn around.

'Babysitting?' she asked.

'Well we won't actually be sitting on babies, but, yes, we are looking after my Mom's niece,' I replied in a bored tone.

I heard Darla huff behind me, probably shooting daggers at the back of my head.

'Maybe some other time then,' Darla sighed.

'Sure,' I muttered.

I heard another huff as she walked off. I rolled my eyes and turned to watch her heading back towards her own table with her own skanky friends. I noticed Drusilla and Glory – her two best friends – looking at me. I stuck a finger up at them before turning round back to the many amused faces of my friends.

'I hate you, you know that?' I said, pointing at Angel.

'I owe you,' he promised.

'Good. I'm driving tonight.'

I saw Angel's lip curl back as though he was going to disagree.

'Do you want me to shout her back?' I threatened.

He sighed and shook his head.

The bell suddenly went.

'Come on, sex-ed time,' winked Spike, rising from his seat.

Great. Sitting in a class full of horny teens, listening to the teacher talk about safe sex, wasn't my favourite lesson. I hoped that today's lesson would be easy to block out.

**----**

**I know half of you can see where this is going, but argh well. I need to write a humorous fic as well as all the tension ones. I hope you like this. Please review! Lots of love, Beth x**


	2. Chapter 2

We all walked to Sex-Ed. Angel, Spike and Faith leading the way, whilst Willow, Oz Cordelia and I dragged behind. Cordelia was informing us that Darla's outfit had been a knock off, although when we asked her how she knew she just told us it was a sixth sense she had. I wouldn't been surprised if Cordelia had made it and just wanted to humiliate Darla – but it was Darla, so the more humiliated the skank got, the happier I would be.

Even though we set off walking to class the same time as everyone else, us seven still managed to walk in late. Everyone spun around in their seats when we walked in, including Anya and Xander who were already there. Mrs Gilmore, the sex-ed teacher, turned around from the whiteboard and rolled her eyes. Her black hair was scraped back into a tight bun, her brown eyes glaring at us, her whole body straightened up like a soldier.

'Why are you all late?' she asked.

'We aren't late, miss, the rest of the class is just early,' replied Faith, who had already taken her seat at the back.

A few people snickered. Mrs Gilmore merely rolled her eyes again – guess it was a habit – and told us to get in our seats. I took a seat besides Willow, pulling out my notebook and a pen. Angel sat in front of me with Oz, Cordelia took a seat with a boy named Parker, whilst Spike sat next to Faith. I noticed Darla sat across the room, her eyes glued on Angel with a small frown. A huge grin broke out across my face when her eyes fell on me. Her blue eyes turned into slits as her lip curled up slightly. I stuck up a finger at her and turned back to the front.

'Now, as you know, each subject has to have a project each year. For Sex-ed we are pairing you up – boy, girl – and you shall be given a robotic baby to look after-'

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'

I rolled my eyes as almost every boy in the class roared in outrage. I saw Angel drop his head in his hands. I smirked – I felt sorry for whoever got that moron.

'I'm getting a lawyer! No way am I being turned into a Dad at seventeen – it's child abuse!' cried Spike.

'Spike, you can't afford a lawyer,' muttered Faith.

Once again, Mrs Gilmore rolled her eyes. 'As I was saying, before you all interrupted, you're partner – the other parent of your child – will be your husband/wife. Any questions?'

Instantly, every single hand in the class went up. Mrs Gilmore sighed and took a seat behind her desk. She pointed at Angel.

'Why the hell is the school trying to take my innocence away?' said Angel.

'It's already left the bloody building,' I muttered.

Mrs Gilmore stood up again, folding her arms over her chest. 'You are doing this project to help mature you-' I noticed her eyes flicker towards our gang –'and prepare you for life after High School. You have to be able to take care of the baby for a month-'

'A MONTH?!'

'For a month. Every time you drop the child or don't feed it, it will register it in the sim card stored in it. You have to feed the child with water which will then later be peed out, you will have to change diapers, and you will have to send your child to sleep. I can promise you that the baby will wake you up in the middle of the night. For the marriage part of the project, you will have to be able to work co-operatively.'

I couldn't even take care of a pair of goldfish, how the hell was I supposed to take care of an effin baby? A robotic baby that could be watered, could pee and cried? I hoped I got a decent partner – I was screwed if I didn't. I looked over at Riley, who was sat on the opposite side of the room. He was a responsible boy, seemed down to earth, and looked like he would be able to handle this project. I crossed my fingers.

'I hope I get to be with Oz,' said Willow.

I hoped they would be together as well. I bet it would be awkward if they had to take care of a child with a different boy or girl. I thanked God that I didn't have a boyfriend.

'When I call you and your partners' name, you shall come up to the front to collect you equipment,' said Mrs Gilmore.

Everyone was quiet now, their eyes focused on Mrs Gilmore.

'Amy and Lewis.'

I watched as a small girl, with short blonde hair and brown eyes, got up and walked towards the desk. A few seconds later, a tall-ish boy with spiky black hair also rose to his feet. Everyone watched as Miss passed them a huge diaper bag, two notebooks, and a baby. I was surprised at how real the robotic baby looked. I could see the small tuft of hair sticking up on the top of its small head.

'Anya and Xander.'

Pfft. How unfair. I laughed as Xander looked at the baby in Anya's arms, gulping loudly as he took the diaper bag and notebooks. Angel nodded at him as he took a seat. Anya grinned at Xander happily as she rocked the baby. She seemed to look better at it than I previously thought.

'Angel and Buffy.'

'WHAT?' we both yelled in unison.

I couldn't be with that bastard! Every teacher knew we lived to annoy each other! How did they expect us to take care of a child together? With that complete and utter idiot as a partner, I would surely fail this class. I began to bang my head repeatedly on the table, hoping that I had just imagined our names called out.

'I don't think so! Why do we have to be paired up?' questioned Angel, frowning.

'Yeah! If you wanted us to actually pass this project then you would have given us different partners!' I added.

Mrs Gilmore just shrugged and beckoned us forward. I could hear Angel grinding his teeth together as he rose to his feet, stomping towards her desk. I groaned and got my feet, following behind him. I grabbed the baby, cradling it in my arms tightly, whilst Angel took the diaper bag and notebooks.

'Good luck,' smirked Mrs Gilmore.

We turned around and began walking back to our seats. Neither of us spoke to one another. Yep, this was going to be an interesting month …

**--------------------------**

I walked over to Angel's car, carrying the bundle of joy in my arms, whilst Angel shuffled behind. We still hadn't spoken since we had received our 'child' and I wondered how long it would take until we did. Angel pulled out his keys and unlocked his jeep, jumping into the front seat. I climbed inside, slamming the door behind me, and buckled my seatbelt. Angel dropped the diaper bag in between my legs, whilst I rested the baby on my lap.

I found it unfair how I had been partnered with Angel. Willow was with Oz, Xander with Anya, Spike with Faith, and Cordelia with Riley. They could all get along and stand being alone with one another for more than ten minutes. I wanted to go back and beg Mrs Gilmore to give me another partner, though I knew the cold-hearted bitch wouldn't.

I looked down at the baby in my arms. It possessed girlish features. Long eyelashes, bright blue eyes, a tuft of brown hair, pale skin. It had small fingers and toes. The lips opened and closed, and there was a hole beneath them where the pointed end of the bottle could be shoved in. I peeked inside the diaper and noticed the small hole. I guess that was where she would pee from. She was dressed in a pink dress, a white cardigan, and black sandals. I guess the school had gone a little over the top when they bought these.

Willow and Oz had been given a girl, Faith and Spike had a boy, Cordelia and Riley had a girl and so did Anya and Xander. The gender of the baby didn't matter to none of us – just the fact that the damn thing would be keeping us up throughout the night.

'We need a name,' I said.

'Robot Baby,' replied Angel, a hint of amusement in his voice.

'We can't call it that! It needs a proper name.' I rolled my eyes. Here we go, let Angel think of some arsehole names for the poor thing.

'A name for a piece of crappy metal? Come on, Buffy, seriously?' questioned Angel, sneaking a glance at me.

'I'm not going in tomorrow calling it 'Robot Baby' whilst everyone else has cute names. Now, shall we call it Strawberry or Ivy?'

Angel snorted. 'Strawberry? That is worse than fucking Robot Baby. Geesh, Buff, do weird names run in your family?'

'What is wrong with my name?' I hissed.

'Nothing, Buff-Buff,' cooed Angel, patting me on the head with his free hand.

We pulled up in Angel's drive. I turned to Angel, smiling widely. He cut the engine and gave me a weird look, raising his eyebrow. I picked up the diaper bag and dropped it into his lap. Then I lay the baby on top of it. I threw open the door and jumped out, slamming it behind me. I began to make my way towards my house when I heard Angel shout after me.

'Where the hell are you going?' he asked.

I spun around, the smile still etched upon my face.

'You really think I forgot about that whole baby photo incident? Nuh, uh. You, my friend, are taking care of the little 'un tonight. Good luck,' I smirked.

I walked into my house and closed the door, leaving Angel sulking in the front garden with our robot baby.

'Let's see if he can think up of a better name,' I muttered, lying on the sofa.

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**Authors Note:**

**Wow, thanks for the reviews! I'm sorry that this chapter isn't funny – I guess I'm going to have to work on my humour. And I do actually like the name Strawberry in case anyone wonders where I got that weird name from! Haha! I have got this story all set out – I got inspired by 90210. Awesome show. And I have a lot of slightly Buffy related storylines to follow on. The baby one is one of many. I hope you all stick around and enjoy – your reviews mean everything to me. Take care and lots of love. Happy reading! x**


	3. Chapter 3

I lay on the sofa, a bag of cheesy puffs clutched in my hand, whilst I watched Jerry Springer. I rolled my eyes as the girl sat up, tears streaming down her face, and ran off the stage. The boy rose slightly from his chair, before thinking otherwise about running after her and sitting back down. I popped a cheesy puff into my mouth, chewing it lazily as Jerry announced it was time for a break. Leaning down to reach for my soda, I heard the door open and close. I jumped to my feet, stuffing the cheesy puffs under the cushion, and ran out to greet Mom, nearly kicking the soda all over the floor.

'Hey Mom!' I smiled, shoving my hands into my back pockets.

Mom smiled as she hung her bag up and dropped her keys into the bowl. I took her coat off for her and threw it over the stairs banister. What had brought on this good mood? Who knows. Girls were weird creatures – one moment they were on the brink of suicide for chipping a nail, the next they're giggling annoyingly whilst some lad chats them up.

'Nice day at work?'

Mom glared at me in surprise. I knew it was because I rarely asked her about work, mainly to save myself from hearing about all the old people at the Art Gallery who had been around when the Mona Lisa was painted, though I wished she didn't have to look so surprised – I was still her daughter and was interested about almost every aspect of her life.

'It was alright. Mr Myers is shipping in this 18th century African voodoo tribal-'

'Mom, you lost me,' I interrupted, smiling cheekily.

Mom rolled her eyes, smiling as well. 'How was school then?'

I followed her into the kitchen, a slight skip in my step, as I thought of the events that had occurred throughout the day. Nothing seemed interesting enough to tell. Although, as my thoughts ran later throughout the day, I remembered the Sex Ed project and the robot baby that was probably causing Angel mayhem next door.

'Boring, as usual. Me and Angel have a baby-'

'Excuse me?' asked Mom, turning to face me.

I guess that if any other parent had heard that, there would be disapproving looks and hands on hips, although my Mom just stood there with a huge grin on her face. I guess she found it quite funny. She knew how much Angel and I didn't get along, how much we'd rather kiss a hairy donkey's arse than each other.

'A robotic baby that we will be taking care of for the next month,' I said.

Mom burst out into a fit of laughter as she opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. 'Angel? A baby? Wow, I wish you two the best of luck. I remember Tara telling me that when Angel was five, he once flushed his goldfish down the toilet and told Wesley that he was giving them a bath. He cried for hours when Tara told him they weren't coming back.'

I burst out into a fit of laughter. I had never heard that story before. I knew that the story would be something fun to tell the guys tomorrow at school. I hoped that Angel had at least matured slightly enough to know that if he flushed the baby down the toilet then it would probably get stuck. I suddenly wondered if asking Angel to take care of the baby was a good idea – what if he ended up failing us before we even had a chance.

'Where is this little robot baby then?' asked Mom.

'At Angels,' I replied, taking a seat at the breakfast table.

'Good luck to him,' grinned Mom.

--------

I lay in bed, curled up in my thick duvet, and looked up at the ceiling. I couldn't get to sleep tonight. Even though I was exhausted, I just couldn't get to sleep. I was beyond irritated. I didn't know why I was sat sulking in the middle of the night, with my arms folded over my chest and looking up at the ceiling, but I didn't care – it was my friends who would have to put up with my cranky behaviour the next day. The thought of Angel sitting up with a crying baby in his arms was very comforting. I could picture the distress over his tired face.

My eyes became heavy and I could no longer keep them open. Just as I felt myself swirling off into the sleep, I heard my door creak open. The footsteps were too heavy to be my Mothers. Without opening my eyes, I slowly reached down and picked up a baseball bat that was lay beside my bed – for scenarios like this. My eyes flew open and I swung the bat towards the tall shadow that was sauntering towards me. However, a hand struck out and grabbed the bat before it could hit them.

'Good God, Buffy! What the hell? You don't just knock people out with a baseball bat – wait, isn't that _my _baseball bat?'

I rolled my eyes as I heard Angel's voice, returning the baseball bat besides my bed, and propped myself up on my elbow. I noticed he was carrying something in his right arm. And I instantly knew what it was.

'Nope. Hell, no. You take that robotic critter from hell and go back home,' I ordered, pointing towards the door.

Angel took a seat on the end of the bed, the baby still cradled in his arms, with a pleading puppy dog look on his face.

'Buffy, I can't do it! Angela's only just shut up now! And I need my sleep,' said Angel.

'Angela?' I questioned, raising my eyebrow.

Angel grinned. 'It's our baby's' name.'

It wasn't hard to do the math. 'Basically it's your name with an A on the end.'

I smacked myself on the forehead when I noticed Angel's eyes squinted, like he was working out a difficult math equation. He obviously had no idea. Jesus, no wonder he couldn't look after a baby. Well, I wasn't letting him get out of his fathering duties.

'Nope, Angel. You can have her tonight.'

Angel crawled up the bed, almost sitting on my legs. He put on his puppy dog eyes, holding the baby out for me to take.

'Please Buffy,' he whispered, pouting his bottom lip.

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't going to fall for that look.

'Kiss my arse,' I said, snuggling back under the quilt.

'Get it out then.'

'Self service,' I retorted.

'Not on a Tuesday it isn't.' I could hear the smirk in his voice.

'Angel, it's past twelve. It's Wednesday.'

HA! Moron. Didn't like that, did he? I glanced up to see him frowning even more now, still holding the baby out for me to take.

'How did you get in here anyway?' I asked.

The thought only just occurred to me then. The window was shut, though not locked, yet he had come through my door. Did he break into my house? Oh no, I would be killed if he had smashed any windows.

'That rock by your door wouldn't fool anyone,' said Angel, chuckling.

'You just walked into my house at something in the morning?' I hissed, leaning up and hitting him around the head. 'What the fuck were you thinking? Why couldn't you just wait until the morning to effin moan?'

Angel groaned and rubbed his head with his free hand. 'I think you owe me one now for hitting me around the head.'

I groaned, rubbing my hands over my face. I should have seen that one coming. Why did I have to act before thinking? I thought it was only guys who did that. Obviously not.

'Have you fed her?' I asked.

Angel's face went blank. 'Was I supposed to?'

I smacked myself on the forehead, making a mental note to take the spare key and burn it. 'We're so going to fail.'

'Buffy, I need sleep,' pleaded Angel.

'If I take her, will you piss off home?'

'Yes.'

I took the baby out of his arms and lay it besides me, wondering when I had lost my mind – I guess it was after slapping myself on the forehead so many times. I noticed Angel grin happily, obviously getting giddy that he was able to get sleep, and stood up, heading towards the window.

'Why don't you just use the door? You've already just waltzed right in,' I said.

Angel opened the window, sitting on the edge with his legs dangling out. 'I think I broke a vase somewhere – I don't want to cut my foot.'

Did he realise that he was just about to jump from my window? I guess a cut foot would be so much worse than breaking lots of bones. Whatever, it was his choice. WAIT. If he jumped from my window, fell and broke his ribs or something, then he would be in hospital and unable to take care of the baby.

'Wait! You can't jump out of the window!' I exclaimed.

'Watch me,' he grinned happily.

I jumped out of my bed as he leant forward, getting ready to jump.

'You can't leave my baby without a Father!' I hissed.

Too late. He had jumped.

I watched from the window as he sprinted out of the back garden. I could hear his booming laugh from here.

'What a tosser,' I muttered as I climbed back into bed.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Authors Note:**

**Thank you so much for the reviews. I like writing this story, especially as it is so easy to write and doesn't need any proper planning. No worries, I promise it won't always be boring like it has been so far – I will be including some Buffy storylines eventually. Take care xx**


	4. Chapter 4

I was awoken the next morning by a screeching banshee. Yep, Angela – as I guessed we were calling her from now on – decided to start crying at six in the morning. Though, the worst part was that the moron hadn't brought around the diaper bag, so now I had neither diapers nor bottles. After checking her diaper, finding it dry and clean, I realised that she must be hungry, especially as her 'Daddy' didn't feed her last night. Listening to her cry furiously, I decided that there was no chance I was going to be able to get back to sleep. I threw back my covers and forced myself out of bed. Placing Angela on my hip, I began to pace the room, bouncing her slightly, in hope to settle her down. Just as I was about to throw her out of the window, my Mom's head peered around the door.

'I thought Angel had the doll,' she mumbled sleepily.

'He decided he needed sleep more than me,' I said.

Mom nodded, yawning slightly. She stepped back out of the door and closed it behind her.

I lay Angela on my bed, dropping the quilt over her to muffle out her cries, and went to the bathroom. I spent longer than usual in the bathroom; washing my face at least six times, brushing my teeth for almost ten minutes non-stop. Eventually I couldn't find another reason to spend so much time in here. I rinsed my mouth and left the bathroom, wishing that I had never fallen for Angel's irritating puppy dog eyes. I made a mental note to poke him in his eye when I saw him.

'Buffy, why is my vase broke?' Mom shouted up the stairs.

Shit.

'What vase?' I called back.

I heard her mutter something and I knew I was off the hook.

I rushed back into my room, slamming the door, before she could ask me any other questions. Angela's cries were still muffled by the pillow, yet still loud enough for me to hear. I grabbed a brush and ran it through my hair whilst I searched my wardrobe. I wanted to be as quick as possible – I didn't know how long I could cope with the annoying sound. Pulling out a pair of skinny jeans and a tank top, I threw the brush onto my bed, barely missing Angela, and stripped off.

After getting dressed, and still being tortured by the insane screeching sound coming from a stupid piece of metal, I pulled on my sneakers, grabbed Angela from up the duvet, and ran from the room. I took two steps at a time on the way down, rocking Angela furiously in my arms. I headed towards the door, deciding to go and retrieve the baby's things so I could shut her up, when Mom called me from in the kitchen. Glancing between the door and where I had heard her voice, I sighed and slumped off towards the kitchen. There was no point making a run for it, she would probably chase after me.

'Yes?' I asked.

I clutched the baby harder in my arms, wishing that it would break, and offered a small smile at Mom, who looked slightly confused. I looked down at the table and noticed every box and packets of biscuits we owned were empty. What the …

'Angel,' I hissed.

Mom didn't seem to hear me.

'Why have all the biscuits disappeared?' she asked.

I needed an excuse. And quick. I decided to pull an 'Angel' and say the first thing that comes to my mind.

'Racoon,' I answered.

Mom cocked her head at me, her head slightly cocked to the side. 'Racoon?' she repeated.

'Erm,' I rocked the baby as I looked around. My eyes fell upon the cat flap. 'The cat flap! The racoon came through the cat flap, ate all the biscuits AND broke your vase!'

Wow. I thought up of that fast. I had to say that I was pretty damn proud of myself. Yet, when I looked back at Mom, she didn't seem to be buying it.

'Why would a racoon get up on the counter, open the cupboard and then make the effort to put all the packets/boxes on the table? And then leave not a single crumb behind-'

'Got to go! Motherhood is calling me!' I interrupted.

I ran quickly out of the kitchen, the baby's cries echoing around the silent house, and headed straight for the door. Once I was out of the house, I slowed my pace to a walk. Thankfully, Mom didn't come out and drag my sorry arse back inside. Without even knocking, I walked in. I knew Tara and Wesley would be at work, yet even if they were in then they wouldn't mind me just waltzing in.

I walked through the sitting room, heading towards the stairs, when I noticed Angel lay across the sofa, already dressed, and laughing his head off at some cartoon on the television. At the sound of Angela's cries, he spun around a little too quickly – resulting in him falling off the sofa.

'What the hell, Buffy? Don't you knock?' he shouted, jumping back on his feet.

I scoffed. 'Says the person who waltzed into my home at something in the morning! Oh yeah, and the same person who broke a vase and ate all the biscuits! And, by the way, if you don't want someone just walking in – lock the door.'

Angel blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. 'You found out about the biscuits then?'

Was this guy for real? I mean, sure, I understand if he hid the boxes, but he left them RIGHT THERE on the top of the table. If my hands weren't busy rocking a crying ogre, then I would have slapped myself on the forehead.

'Anyway, what do you want?' asked Angel, lying back down on the sofa.

'Oh, I forgot the screeching baby in my arms wouldn't be obvious enough!'

I rolled my eyes, dying to just throw the baby at his thick head and run for it. Angel's eyes flashed to Angela and he chuckled, rising to his feet. Laughing would only make it worse. He ran upstairs - sounding like a baby elephant might I add - before returning a few moments later with the diaper bag. I guess he was clever than he looked. He passed me the bag, giving me a quick smile and his puppy dog eyes, before returning to the sofa.

I followed him, throwing his feet off so I could sit down, and took a seat, dropping the baby on his stomach whilst I found the bottle. Angel groaned. Picking up the robot baby gingerly, he began to bounce her. I pulled out of the bottle, dropping the bag off the floor, and returned Angela back on my lap. I forced the nip of the bottle in its mouth, laying her in my arms.

'You look good doing that, Buff,' chuckled Angel.

'Don't laugh, buddy boy, it's your turn tonight. I don't care if you don't get your beauty sleep – kiss my arse,' I said, showing how serious I was on my face.

Angel must have noticed that I was serious because he gulped. 'Now, now, Buff Buff – let's not doing anything rash.'

He slowly sat up, raising his hands in a defensive pose, and flashed me a nervous smile. It was quite amusing to see how scared he looked just at the thought of taking care of a baby – a ROBOTIC baby – for one night. I wondered how he would react if I told him he had to look after a _real _baby.

'Do you want me to tell Darla where you live?' I asked.

I praised myself. The horror on his face was enough to know that he had caved – that I had won! Angel would definitely be looking after the baby tonight.

'Fine,' agreed Angel, running his fingers through his brown hair. 'You have her tomorrow, then we'll both stay at mine with the gang on Friday – Mum and Dad are out of town.'

'Agreed,' I smiled.

---------------------------------------

After feeding the two babies – it turned out Angel hadn't had any breakfast – we loaded up into the car. Angela sat on my knee, giggling like an actual baby, with her diaper bag shoved between my legs. Angel drove slowly to school, explaining that he wasn't in such a rush to get there.

'You know what the best part is about having you as a partner?' I asked, looking at him.

'What?' he smirked cockily.

'I was hoping you could tell me – I've got nothing,' I grinned.

Angel's smile dropped into a frown. He pulled up besides Faith's car. I jumped out of the car, grabbing the diaper bag, and slamming the door shut. Angel got out, locking the car, before following me towards registration.

'I hate you,' muttered Angel.

'Good,' I smiled.

What a happy pair we were.

-------------------------------------------

**Authors Note:**

**Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'm glad you find it funny – cause when I re-read it, I just don't. Haha. Hope you like this chapter. Lots of love, Beth x**


	5. Chapter 5

'Miss Summers, Mr O'Conner, you are late again and-'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' interrupted Angel.

Mr McGiven, our form teacher, said no more, slumping back into his seat. I truly felt sorry for the man – no one seemed to listen to him. He run his fingers over his bald head and sighed, tapping away on his laptop. I also noticed he had no wedding ring. Bless.

Angel dropped down into his seat, letting the diaper bag drop with a small thud, and slouched in his chair, gazing off into the distance. I sat down with Angela perched on my lap, and looked around the class. Faith wasn't in yet, neither was Spike. However, Faith hardly came on time and was usually late, whilst Spike never turned up to registration at all. He said Mr McGiven irritated him too much.

A sudden screeching sound erupted in class. I looked over and noticed a guy sat in the corner, a distressed look in his eye, as he rocked his robot baby rapidly. The poor boy looked almost suicidal whilst the robot cried in his arms. I looked back over at Angel – fear pooled in his brown orbs.

'Did I ever tell you how much I love you, Buffy?' he smiled sweetly.

'Nope. And, don't sweet talk me – Angela is yours for the night,' I said.

Angel frowned and slumped back into his seat.

'Damn women,' he muttered, clenching and unclenching his hands.

I rolled my eyes.

Damn men.

* * *

'You know that huge black Jeep in the parking lot?' I asked.

The random girl in front of me nodded slowly.

Thankfully, I had a free period and had decided to act upon my revenge against Angel. It seemed that my girlish hormones were kicking in and the embarrassment from the naked baby photos were coming back in sharp sensations. Quickly coming up with a plan, I had been grateful that I had a free period, whilst Angel took Angela to maths with him, to sort everything out. So far, I had spread the key points around half of the school. And, so far, no one had asked any questions.

'Right, well at the end of fifth period, yeah?' I watched as the girl nodded her head slowly again. 'There is a competition. Whoever can keep their hand on the car the longest wins its!'

The girls' eyes widened instantly. 'We win the Jeep?' she whispered.

I nodded, smiling.

'Wow,' gushed the girl, her eyes still widened. 'Thanks!'

She hurried off down the corridor, a slight skip in her step.

I had been every careful to not tell anyone who would tell Angel. Most younger students were shy towards him, never speaking to him or even looking in his direction, which was excellent as I knew none of them – if they knew the Jeep belonged to Angel – would go up to tell him about it. I smiled and clapped my hands together.

'Buffy?'

I spun around to see Willow sauntering towards me, her daughter, who she had named Lilly, in her arms. Her diaper bag was strung over her shoulder and I noticed she looked like she was dragging her feet. I looked up at her eyes and realised there were huge bags beneath them, almost like purple bruises.

'Will, you look terrible,' I frowned sympathetically.

As soon as she was in reaching distance, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She re-arranged Lilly so she was in her other arm, and wrapped her arm around my waist. We began to walk down the corridor, without any clue of where we were going, and enjoyed the silence between us. We were enjoying the silence because Lilly wasn't crying.

'Will, can I have a ride back with you and Oz?' I said.

Willow smiled. 'Course you can.'

I returned her smile. I was always able to rely on Willow. We had been like two peas in a pod since our first day of high school – best friends until the very end. Without Willow, I would have committed suicide with having to put up with Angel all the time, or would have failed every exam I had ever taken.

'But, if you don't mind me asking, why aren't you heading back with Angel?' she said curiously.

Luckily, being the smart girl I was, I had the answer planned out. 'Because it is his night to look after Angela and if I go in the car with him he will probably dump her off on me the moment we get home. And, Willow, I don't think I have enough vases for the arse to break.'

Willow seemed totally confused by the last part, though nodded her head anyway.

'Thanks,' I grinned.

* * *

I took a seat at our usual table, grateful that I was able to rest and let my mind wander. No one had arrived yet – I guessed the others were held back for a detention in their other classes or something. I picked up the soda off my tray and popped it open, raising the can to my lips as I scanned the room. I fought back the strong urge to punch something as a certain blonde skank sauntered, waggling her hips and flicking back her hair as usual, over towards me, her eyes mocking me.

'What?' I sighed, giving her Darla no time to speak first.

Darla came to a halt, dropping her hands on her hips. If Snyder wasn't so keen on kicking me out, I would have drop kicked her right there.

'Buffy-'

'Skank.'

Darla flashed me an irritated look. 'I know you have a child with Angel-'

'You do know that it's not real, Darla? It is _robotic. _Now you may not have caught that in class but-'

For a second, I thought I heard Darla growl at me.

'I know it's a robot!' she snapped, flicking her hair back in a frustrated manner, 'I just wanted to tell you that – robotic baby or not – Angel is all mine. He. Belongs. To. Me.'

Okay … she was most positively – one hundred percent – deluded as she looked. Did she honestly think that I – Buffy Anne Summers – _wanted _Angel O'Conner? The boy that always found every chance to annoy me, the neighbour that breaks into my house and smashes vases, the complete moron who can't even take care of a robotic baby …

I burst into hysterics.

Darla took a step back, her eyes widened in fright, and slight anger, whilst she took in my appearance.

I was doubled over the table, banging my fists onto the table, with tears streaming down my face. I was unable to control the laughter. Darla was just too funny! I slowly began to calm down, wiping away the deserted tears on my cheeks, and took a few deep breaths, steadying my erratic breathing.

'Jeesh, Buffy, what tickled you? I heard you laughing from down the corridor.'

I looked up to find Angel; Angela curled up in his arms, with the diaper bag slung over his shoulder.

And just like that … I burst out into hysterics again.

Angel slowly took his seat, his wide eyes focused on me, dropping a tray of food on the table, along with the diaper bag. I hadn't even notice the others come over to join us.

'B, chill!' I heard Faith say.

'Is niblet alright?' spike asked, leaning over to Angel. 'Girl looks like she's high or something.'

I hiccoughed. Eventually, for the second time, my breathing returned to normal and I was able to control myself again. I noticed Faith shaking her head, Spike rolling his eyes, Willow and Oz watching in amused expressions, and Angel grinning from ear to ear. Along with that, I realised Xander, Anya and Cordelia were nowhere to be seen.

'Breathing alright, again?' chuckled Oz.

I nodded, releasing a big breath that I didn't even know I was holding. 'Darla said the funniest thing.'

'Darla?' questioned five voices.

I noticed Angel turn a slight shade of green at the mention of Darla's name. He instantly began busying himself with Angela. The others, however, looked interested.

'She told me that Angel belonged to her and he is all hers,' I laughed, tears of laughter welling up in my eyes again. Angel's face was now torn between a deathly white and a sickly green. 'Like she was telling me to back off.'

Everyone looked around at each other, besides Angel who kept his eyes on Angela, before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter. Angel's cheeks tinged with a faint pink-ish colour. He was embarrassed – bless his poor cotton socks.

* * *

It was finally the end of the day. What a relief!

In History it was only me, Willow, Oz and Angel. Xander and Anya had been absent the whole day, probably spending the whole day having sex, whilst Faith and Spike had been taken out half way through the lesson by Snyder, after he had found a robotic baby outside. It wasn't the fact that the baby was outside, it was that there was a baby shaped hole in the window where Spike – who looked quite proud of himself – had thrown it out.

The bell rang loudly and everyone jumped out of their seats, heading straight for the door.

Angel and Oz were carrying the children in front, whilst Willow and I lagged behind slightly with the diaper bags thrown over our shoulders. We were discussing how long it would take for all the babies to be confiscated – teachers had been complaining about the disruption the robots caused during their classes … one teacher had even thrown one in the bin!

We exited the school building and stepped out into the parking lot.

That was when I remembered about my revenge.

Surrounding Angel's Jeep was more than one hundred people. Some people sat on the roof, their hands pressed firmly against the car, whilst others took a seat on the bonnet. For those who had no space to sit on the actual car, they either sat around it or stood besides it, their hands always firmly touching the car.

I peeked over at Angel.

His eyes were wider than I ever thought they could go. His jaw was almost touching the floor. For once, he looked at a total loss of words.

'What the fuck,' he whispered, scanning around his car.

I chuckled, dropping the diaper bag besides him. His eyes instantly flashed to my face.

'You!' Angel hissed, pointing at finger at me.

'It's rude to point,' I said, pushing his finger out of my face.

His hand curled up in a fist around Angela. I smirked at him happily, tasting the sweet sensation of revenge on the tip of my tongue.

'You did this!' he shouted, waving his hand towards the many students crowding his car.

'You see, the students at this school are very _hand_-y when it comes to getting revenge,' I smirked.

A low growl escaped his lips.

Willow and Oz began backing off towards Oz's truck, not wanting to stay in the thick tension any longer. I began to walk backwards, keeping my eyes firm on Angel's as I retreated to Oz's van.

'By the way, someone is expecting to win your car. Oh! And Angela's bed time is eight – don't keep her up any longer than that or she will get cranky.'

I raced off towards Oz's van, jumping in the back seat and slamming the door shut, peering out the window at Angel. He hadn't moved a muscle, staring at me with angry eyes, with his fists clenched.

As we drove out of the parking lot, I swear I even saw a few teachers huddled around Angel's car.

* * *

**There we go for chapter five! Got to love the Buffy/Angel hatred. Don't worry – as Vixangel said – they argue a lot so they must have passion somewhere. And they are both hot – they have to notice the sexual tension that will be arising in later chaps. Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH to every single person who reviewed! I wish I could repay you for your kind words! x**


	6. Chapter 6

I asked Mom to give me a ride to school the next morning. I wouldn't be surprised if Angel murdered me on the way to school and dumped my body in a forest, never to be found. When Mom asked why I wasn't getting a ride up with Angel, noticing his Jeep was still parked in the driveway, I just shrugged and jumped into the car, trying to force the huge grin off my face.

'See you later,' Mom said as she pulled up outside of school.

I threw the door open and jumped out, noticing Spike leaning against the rail in front of the entrance. I slammed the door shut, waved to Mom quickly, and made my way over to Spike, smirking slightly at the amusement that sparked in his blue eyes when he saw me walking towards him. He pushed himself off the rail and met me half way.

'I know a little birdie who is very good at pranks,' Spike grinned.

'Oh, really?' I asked.

Spike patted my head softly. 'Good idea! I was very impressed niblet.'

I grinned, giving him a high five.

When the bell rang, Spike headed down the steps and down the street, pulling out a pack of cigarettes as he went. He always went for a quick smoke before first period – hating our form teacher too much to even bother showing up to registration. I headed into the school building, greeting people as they walked past, and made my way to registration, keeping my eye open for any of my friends.

I heard the sound of a baby screeching in the background and spun around.

Sadly it wasn't Angel, just a girl and a boy who looked like suicide was heaven compared to the crying baby in their arms.

I laughed quietly at the poor pair before continuing to walk.

As soon as I entered the classroom, my eyes fell upon Angel's table.

I frowned when I realised he wasn't there. Where was he? He rarely missed school – even though he seemed like the rebel type of guy. I sighed and slouched over to my desk, listening to the light chatter that filled the classroom. Lay on my desk was a white piece of paper, my name printed in fancy slanted writing at the top.

_Miss Summers,_

_You are to report to my office as soon as registration is over. If you do not come, you shall find yourself in detention for the rest of the year._

_Principle Snyder._

'Bastard,' I muttered, screwing up the paper and shoving it into my pocket.

* * *

Registration had to end at some point or another.

I grabbed my bag, hurling it over my shoulder, and slumped out of the room.

Snyder would do anything to kick me out. For some reason, ever since I had entered this school, the fat bald guy had labelled me as 'trouble maker' without even making the effort to get to know me first. There had been a brief period where I had been expelled, yet my Mother – who knew I wasn't as angelic as I pretended to be – had found some connections and was able to get me back into school. Ever since the day I had returned, Snyder had sat there and picked up on everything I did, trying to find the slightest incident to kick me out for good.

I knocked on Snyder's door, hoping he had forgotten I was coming.

Yet since when had life been fair? Especially to me.

'Come in,' called Snyder in his usual irritating voice.

I threw open the door – a little to hard as it crashed into the loud with a bang – and walked into the room. I immediately noticed Angel sat in a chair opposite his desk, slouched slightly, craning his neck slightly to watch me as I entered. I slowly took a seat in the chair besides him, dropping my bag to the floor, and sneaking a glance at Angel's face. His handsome – wait! I didn't mean that – face looked curious and slightly confused.

'It was nice of you to join us on time, Miss Summers,' said Snyder, leaning back in his chair.

'I had math … never really liked that lesson,' I smiled happily.

Snyder muttered something under his breath – which sounded like 'give me a reason, Summers' – whilst Angel smirked.

I wondered why Angel had come straight here instead of registration. Had Snyder been waiting for him? Was Angel having a gay romance with Snyder? Hmm…

'Your behaviour in this school is appalling,' started Snyder, giving us both a stern look, 'and these _pranks _you seem to pull on each other have crossed the line.'

I looked at Angel, who looked at me. We both grinned happily at each other. I guessed that however pissed off I had made him yesterday; he had totally forgiven me now. Snyder growled. We both turned our attention back to him.

'As I was saying, these pranks have crossed the line. I have spoken to the school board and we have come up with a solution.'

Hopefully they had decided that we could be home-schooled. Or, if we were lucky, they decided to give me and Angel millions of dollars so we never had to be educated again.

'Doctor Giles is a very good therapist,' smirked Snyder.

'WHAT?!' Angel and I yelled in unison.

* * *

'You two have to see a therapist?' asked Willow sympathetically.

We sat in the corner of the yard in the shade. Angela was curled up in my arms quietly, whilst I sat with a sour expression across my face. Angel sat next to me, looking quite angry as he talked to his Mom on the phone. Xander, Anya, Willow and Oz gave us sympathetic expressions, whilst Faith and Spike looked like they were dying to burst into laughter.

'Yes. Our first meeting is last period,' I replied through clenched teeth.

Willow reached over with her free hand, cradling Lilly in the other, and gave my hand a small squeeze. I looked up and gave her a small smile.

'At least you get out off gym, Buff!' said Xander.

'Yeah. I should be so devastated that I am missing the only class that I am passing in!' I hissed, throwing Xander an angry look.

He raised his hands in a defensive way. 'Now, now.'

'Little bit could use anger management as well,' laughed Spike.

I gave Angela to Angel, who was still pleading with Tara to get him out of therapy, and began banging my head against the table, forcing myself to forget every word Snyder had said. I felt Angel rub my back soothingly – I relaxed slowly.

'Anyway, who fancies going to the Bronze tonight?' said Faith, clapping her hands together in excitement.

Faith and Spike was baby-free. After the little incident where they threw the baby out of the window, Snyder had refused to return it and told Mrs Gilmore to fail them instantly. Faith and Spike knew more about sex than anyone else, apart from Anya, and didn't care less whether they had failed or passed. Now, unlike the rest of us, they were able to spend every night partying whilst we sat at home with the little mechanical darlings.

'Oh, yeah. Unless you forgot, some of us still have these little monsters to look after,' I muttered into the table.

'I know a great window that you could throw it out off if you want to get rid of it,' smirked Faith.

Yeah, and if I did that – sod therapy, I would be kicked out full stop.

I sighed, pretending to look disappointed. 'So tempting, yet I would like to actually remain in school instead of being kicked out.'

Angel grunted and slammed his phone shut, dropping it onto the table.

'Mom said that therapy would do us the world of good,' he sighed.

Great. And I knew my Mom would be thrilled with me going therapy. We were officially doomed.

'So, is anyone actually going to come to the Bronze or are you going to sit at home breast feeding all night?' questioned Faith, looking around at us all.

'Were we supposed to breast feed?' Anya said to Xander.

Xander laughed and kissed her forehead. Anya merely looked up at him with a confused face.

'I'm in!' declared Spike.

'Yeah, me too,' added Oz.

'Count me in,' Willow smiled, intertwining her fingers with Oz's.

'Who would want to be the party pooper? I'm in too,' said Xander, Anya nodding in agreement.

'Why not?' grinned Angel.

Everyone turned to look at me.

'Fine,' I sighed.

Angel smiled happily at me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

* * *

**Authors note: Therapy. Oh, good luck to them both HAHA! Thanks so much for the reviews! It means a lot! Keep them coming – I love hearing your views! Sorry it's so short - I promise to write another chapter for tommorow as repayment! Reviews are appreciated! Lots of love x**


	7. Chapter 7

Ok... Angel and l had to go see a therapist, or a "school counsellor" as Willow told me to phrase it (to save me embarrassment probably) because we constantly pulled pranks on one another. Right, okay then. Yet Cordelia comes in half way through fourth period, carrying five huge shopping bags in each hand, after having spent the whole morning shopping for baby clothes. Her "baby" was a freakin' robot! Did it seriously matter if it wore the most disgusting baby grows ever? It was made of effin' metal. And when I did suggest to Cordelia that she could come see Doctor Giles with us, she laughed and told me that she needed to do some more shopping after lunch! Seriously, a therapist needs to sort out that shopping addiction of hers …

After lunch, I slowly dragged my feet across the floor, trying to waste time as I made my way to Snyder's office for the second time that day. Angel mimicked my pace as he walked besides me; Angela curled up in one of his arms. He seemed to be taking more responsibility of the robot baby recently.

'Maybe it should be Faith and Spike going therapy,' I said out loud, looking up at Angel. 'I mean they're the ones throwing babies out of windows – not us!'

Angel laughed softly. 'Come on, Buff, it might be fun.'

I looked up at him like he was crazy.

'Ok, what drugs are you on and where can I buy some?' I questioned, shaking my head with a roll of my eyes. 'Therapy won't be fun, Angel.'

We halted in front of Snyder's office. Sighing loudly, I raised my curled fist and knocked heavily – maybe a little too heavily – on the door.

'No need to punch a hole through the door. Doc will probably prescribe you some pills for that anger problem,' murmured Angel, flashing me a huge grin when I looked up at him with an irritated look.

Before I could reply, the door was flung open. I turned to see a man, who was wearing a very ugly suit, with glasses stood in the door, smiling fondly at us.

'You must be Miss Summers and Mr O'Conner,' greeted Giles in a thick British accent. He took a step to the side to allow us in. 'Come in!'

I glanced towards the door before looking behind me. Angel must have sensed that I was going to run for it and wrapped his large hands around my wrist, dragging me into the room. He closed the door firmly behind him and walked me over to the two chairs opposite Snyder's desk, where Doctor Giles sat comfortably. There was a notebook sat before him, a pen resting in his hand as he studied us through his glasses.

'Oh, how rude of me! I am Doctor Giles, but you can just call me Giles,' said Giles.

'Can we call you Doc?' asked Angel.

I rolled my eyes. Real smooth, Angel, ask immature questions to prove you're sane.

Giles looked at me – as though he was asking me if he was being serious – before turning back to Angel, who was now rocking Angela with a huge grin, and nodded. Angel gave a small cheer. I smacked myself on the forehead.

'Now, this is a room of truth from now on. Any questions I ask, I will hope that you will answer in complete honesty. Let's start,' smiled Giles, looking between us.

I slumped in my chair, wishing that the ugly carpet would open up and suck me into hell. Angel straightened up in his chair, smiling like he was on happy pills.

'Do you know why you're here?' asked Giles.

'Yep. Because my Mom wouldn't get me out of it,' Angel said.

Giles nodded, scribbling something down on his notebook. I sneaked a glance at Angel and noticed he looked totally at ease. He looked at me and smiled, giving me a thumbs up, before turning his attention back to Giles, who seemed to be studying us with his beady eyes.

'Principle Snyder told me you are currently doing some baby/parenting scheme of work. How is it going?'

He looked at me, though, once again, it was Angel who answered.

'Buffy is usually out drug dealing and so forth, so I am the one who has to be the Mother in our assignment,' answered Angel, his voice dripping in sympathy.

I knew it wouldn't look good for my mental state if I reached out and strangled him. However, being locked up in a white padded room with a straightjacket seemed very welcoming compared to sitting another fifty minutes in here. Angel gave me a huge grin as Giles poured over his notebook once again.

'Arse hole,' I mouthed.

He blew me a kiss in return.

Time to have a little fun of my own …

'That is completely untrue! I am the one having to look after Angela all day! You see, Angel has an addiction … a _very _unhealthy addiction,' I frowned, shaking my head in disappointment.

Angel cocked his eyebrow at me; Giles studied me in interest; I smirked happily.

'What would this addiction be, Buffy?' said Giles, looking over his glasses.

'Angel is a sex addict,' I replied simply.

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to maintain a serious face as Angel yelped out in horror. Giles' eyes widened instantly and he began scribbling down on his notepad furiously, almost burning a hole through the paper.

'Once, his Mom had to sell her own bed on E-bay because she caught him having sex on it. And, another time, I saw him and this girl – called Darla might I add – having sex in a sandpit. In broad daylight! How gross is that, Mr Giles? I feel _so _scarred,' I sniffed, pretending to wipe a tear away.

I could see Angel staring at me in disbelief out of the corner of my eye.

'So …' said Giles, looking up from his notepad. 'You are a drug dealer, Buffy, and Angel is a sex addict. Anything else you would-'

'Buffy also is addicted to anything to do with Vampires!' cried out Angel suddenly.

Giles and I both turned to look at him with concerned expressions. I wouldn't be surprised if Doc booked him a white padded cell as soon as he left the room.

'She thinks vampires are real. She goes out every night, reeking of garlic, with a wooden stake in her hands, walking through cemeteries. Once, when I was bleeding, she screamed for me to get it covered before the 'care-bears with fangs' came to suck my blood!'

Giles snuck a glance at me, concern shining in his eyes, and wrote something down.

'Do you think Buffy is joking or being deadly serious when she mentions vampires?' questioned Giles, turning to Angel.

Angel smirked in my direction before answering.

'Totally serious. She says she is the _Chosen One _and her duty is to kill all the vampires. Doc, she's the "chosen one" to be a pain in my arse – nothing more,' said Angel.

Giles nodded slowly.

I could feel my cheeks burning. My fists were clenched together. And my teeth grinded together loudly.

'Doctor Giles, Angel is also very brooding and cryptic. He has attempted suicide many times,' I frowned with a thick layer of sadness and concern.

Giles turned to Angel with widened eyes. Angel flashed me an angry look, which I returned with a thumbs up and a big grin. I leant back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest, and smiled as I thought of the many ways this could unravel. I heard Angel curse me under his breath.

'Is this true, Angel? How do you feel at this moment in time?'

'Suicidal,' he growled.

'From one to ten – ten being the highest, how suicidal do you feel?'

'10.'

I was surprised Giles' eyes didn't pop out they were that wide. 'Are you taking any medication, Angel?' he asked slowly.

Angel shook his head rigidly.

'Is there anything bothering you at the moment?' questioned Giles.

Humour sparked across Angel's face. Though I doubted Giles recognized it, I just knew Angel too well.

'Life itself. I just can't find the will to go on,' Angel cried dramatically.

I tried my hardest not to burst out into a fit of laughter, though I couldn't help the loud snort as Angel's bottom lip quivered. Giles shot me a look and turned to me.

'Do you find Angel's depression amusing, Buffy?'

'Nope. His sex addiction is _much _funnier,' I said honestly.

* * *

The next ten minutes were spent discussing Angel's suicidal thoughts. He blamed me for most of his blackening depressions, in which Giles had ordered me to look after Angela for the next few nights to help Angel relax and spend some time on himself. However, I doubted Giles knew we were all going to The Bronze later and Angel wouldn't be "relaxing" anyway. Yet, I ended up finding his reasons for depression quite amusing.

Titanic makes him depressed apparently.

When there are no cheesy puffs in the fridge, he feels the urge to go and throw himself in front of a bus.

When he doesn't have sex for more than six hours, he can't find the will to go on.

And when Snyder gives him detentions, his heart breaks because he has a secret sexual fetish for the principle.

The best part was that Giles believed every single word that came out of the idiots' mouth. I wondered if this "therapist" – or whatever the hell he was supposed to be – had gotten his degree online.

Finally, the session was coming to an end and Giles had decided to put me under the spotlight for a few minutes.

'Could you answer a few questions for me, Buffy? As an ender to the session,' said Giles.

I nodded, forcing myself not to groan in frustration.

'What do you want more than anything else in the world?'

'Jerry Springer and cocaine.'

'Where in the world would you rather be at this moment?'

'Disney Land.'

'Do you worry about school work?'

'Yeah. I don't want to end up working in McDonalds because I would end up obese. I have a McDonalds addiction as well, Doc – might want to write that one down!'

'And, finally, do you think you answered every question honestly today?'

'No.'

'Which ones didn't you answer honestly, Buffy?' Giles asked in curiosity.

'The one before this question. I _did _answer them all in honesty before you asked me if I answered them all honestly,' I laughed.

Giles gave me a confused glance before rising out of his chair. He shook Angel's hand, then mine.

'It was nice meeting you both! I will get Principle Snyder to inform you when our next session is,' smiled Giles.

We nodded, thanked him unenthusiastically, and spun around, almost running towards the door. As soon as we got out of the door, and closed it, we both groaned loudly.

'Another session? Jeesh wasn't one enough?' muttered Angel, passing Angela to me.

'I know! Now I have to try and make up some other nutty addictions for you!' I moaned.

* * *

**Thanks so much for every single review! It means a lot to know that someone is reading your work out there! Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated! Lots of love, Beth x**


	8. Chapter 8

'Mom! Please!' I begged.

'No, Buffy. I am not taking care of _your _child whilst you go out. And that's final.'

I stared angrily at my Mother as she washed the pots. I had casually mentioned during dinner that I was going to the Bronze with the gang later, to which she nodded her head at, though as soon as I asked her – very politely might I say – if she would look after Angela, all hell broke loose.

'Mom! It's a freakin' robot for crying out loud,' I said impatiently.

Mom shook her head, continuing to scrub viciously at the plate in her hand. I knew that the argument was over and I had lost. Sighing in defeat, I stormed out of the room. Just as I was about to climb the stairs, there was a firm knock at the door. I guessed that it would be Angel. I stomped back to the door, finding that I was not really in the mood anymore to go the Bronze, and threw open the door, causing it to smash loudly into the wall.

'What?' I growled.

'God, no wonder you're seeing a therapist,' Angel laughed.

I grinded my teeth together. I knew that if looks could kill then Angel would be dead by now.

'What?' he asked, noticing my glares. 'Do I have something in my teeth?'

'Carry on and you won't have any teeth,' I hissed.

Normal people would have taken a step backwards, or look remotely frightened, though Angel stood there with a cocky smile spread across his face. His eyes travelled to Angela in my arms.

'And how is my daughter today?' asked Angel, taking Angela out of my arms.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the diaper bag from behind the door. Without shouting a goodbye to Mom, I stepped out and slammed the door behind me.

'We're taking her to the Bronze?' said Angel.

'Yep. Grandma Joyce won't babysit,' I replied shortly.

Angel didn't ask anymore questions as we made our way to his car. Once we were inside, with our seatbelts fastened tightly and Angela sat firmly on my knee, we pulled out of the drive and headed towards the Bronze, allowing only the cheesy pop music on the radio to fill in the silence. Throughout the ride, Angel kept sneaking glances at me. I felt like poking him in his eyes by time we parked in the Bronze car park.

I unbuckled my seat belt in one swift motion and jumped out of the Jeep, cradling Angela in my arms. I grabbed the diaper bag, slinging it across my shoulder, before slamming the door shut a little too loudly.

'Now, Now, Buffster. Sure you don't need an Antidepressant or anything?' Angel questioned.

The look he received in return had him taking ten steps backwards, holding out his hands in a defensive pose. I took a deep breath and let myself relax. As soon as Angel realised I was calm, he returned to my side. We walked towards the door, earning many glances from people as they eyed up the baby in my arms. I guess that in the dark Angela looked slightly like an actual baby.

As soon as we made it to the door, ready to walk in, the bouncer stuck his arm out and halted us.

'Sorry miss, no babies allowed in the club,' he said in a deep voice.

Oh my god … was this dude totally thick?

'It's a robot,' I said impatiently.

The man's face suddenly looked disgusted.

'That is the sickest thing I have ever heard! Calling their child a robot just to get into a club. You people make me sick,' he growled.

And again – oh my god …

'No, it really is a robot – touch it,' assured Angel.

The man shook his head. 'I will not touch your child.'

'It's a robot for fuck sake!' I groaned, tapping it on the head.

I shoved Angela in his face, making him look at her face. When I pulled her away, I noticed the embarrassment on the man's face. He coughed and stepped aside, mumbling an apology.

'What a complete idiot! You can tell he went our school!' I whispered to Angel.

Angel laughed. He laid his hand on my back, where I felt a surge of electricity pulse through me, and guided me through the crowds, heading towards our usual table in the corner. A few people's eyes followed us, probably wondering why we had brought a baby to a club, though Angel and I were used to be stared at so we ignored it easily.

'Peaches, why have you brought niblet to the Bronze?' asked Spike, appearing besides me.

'God, Spike, don't do that! And, secondly, we invited Angel – remember?' I said, sticking my tongue out.

'Cute. No, I meant Baby Buffy O'Conner in your arms.'

Spike nodded towards Angela, who was currently sleeping thankfully.

'Grandma Summers wouldn't babysit,' laughed Angel, joining in the conversation.

Spike joined in with Angel's laughter.

We headed over to our table in the corner. Willow was sat on Oz's knee, whispering something in his ear that was making him smile. Anya and Xander were sat closely, Anya's head resting upon Xander's shoulder. And Faith was nowhere to be seen at the table. Knowing my good friend well, my eyes began to scan the dance floor. As usual, Faith was dancing sexily in the centre of the floor with about four lads surrounding her, admiring her moving body. I rolled my eyes.

I took a seat at the table, flanked by Angel and Spike. As I looked around, I realised that no one else had their children. I felt the anger towards my Mother bubbling up in my stomach. Willow's lips departed from Oz's ear and she re-positioned her body so she was able to talk to me from across the table.

'Hey, how come baby O'Conner is here?' she asked.

'My Mom wouldn't watch her,' I muttered.

Angel began to rub my shoulders sympathetically.

'Where are your darling angels?' said Angel, steering the conversation away from my Mom.

'We left ours in the dumpster outside,' said Anya, very proud of that fact. 'We're going to pick it up when we leave.'

I raised my eyebrow at Xander, who merely shrugged. I heard Angel chuckle softly besides me, probably wondering why he hadn't come up with that idea, whilst Willow rolled her eyes at Anya, obviously not that impressed with her stunt.

'Lily is being watched by Grandma Rosenberg,' said Oz.

I made a mental note to write down Willow's Moms number in case I ever needed a baby sitter.

* * *

I leant up against the counter, awaiting my glass of coke, with Angela balanced on my hip as the tops of my fingertips drummed along the counter. I was spending some "quality time" with my daughter as Faith put it, who had nearly collapsed in laughter after she found out we had to bring Angela to the Bronze with us. I glanced over at my table and saw Angel wave at me, his cocky grin wide across his face.

'Teenage mum, huh?'

I turned around at the unfamiliar voice.

A large boy, almost six feet from a guess, was stood in front of me. His white shirt was tight around his body, showing off all his muscles, whilst his leather jeans clung to his toned legs. He had bronze wind-swept hair, that he was currently running his fingers through, with beautiful shocking green eyes. I almost melted to the floor.

'How old is your daughter?'

I blinked. Was everyone getting a heavy smack around the head tonight? Because if they were, I must have missed my turn. I didn't understand how people could keep mistaking a robot for an actual baby. Either this guy was drunk, high, brain dead, just plain stupid … or all four. But, then again, he was smokin' hot – who cared?

'Erm, yeah,' I smiled, flashing my pearly whites.

The guy nodded in interest. 'She's beautiful like her Mother.'

I blushed deeply at his charming compliment. Then, after his compliment washed in, it didn't feel so much like a compliment anymore …

I had just been told that a robot – a METAL BLOODY ROBOT – was beautiful like me. So either a robot was as good-looking as me, or I was as ugly as a robot. Peachy.

'Would you like to head out to the back alley? I'm sure I could provide you with another beautiful child to carry,' winked the boy.

Ew. I would rather gouge my eyes out.

However, before I could describe the exact pain I would rather go through then go anywhere with him, a huge figure suddenly blocked my vision of the hot lad.

'Hey! Back away from the mother of my child!' said Angel, folding his arms across his chest.

The green-eyed stud looked Angel up and down, smirking slightly. 'So, this is your baby daddy?'

'Yeah, he is. And he would also like you to get the hell away from his daughter,' snarled Angel.

I took a step back towards the counter. Angel sounded quite irritated.

'EW, DUDE! You had a baby with your daughter?'

I rolled my eyes, as I guessed Angel probably did as well.

'Not _her! _The baby in her arms,' answered Angel.

The guy's mouth dropped into an 'O' before he took a step back. 'Sorry, dude, didn't realise this hot piece of ass had already been claimed.'

'Yeah, well, that hot piece of ass belong to me. Goodbye.'

And with that, Angel dragged me back over to our table, leaving the hot guy stood at the counter in amazement. As I took my seat, wedged in between Xander and Oz, I noticed the green eyed beauty lean over and take my coke from the counter.

'Thief,' I muttered angrily.

* * *

**WOW! Thanks so much for all the kind reviews for the last chapter! You are all so kind! Hope you liked this chap! I had to cut it short so I could go watch the new episode of Ghost Whisperer! Hope you like! Happy reading! xx **


	9. Chapter 9

The rest of the night past uneventfully.

The bronze haired guy, who had earlier been complimenting me and my beautiful robotic child, had long since gone. I noticed that throughout the night Angel's eyes would glare at anyone whose eyes even glanced in my direction. I knew he was being a good friend, and I did owe him my life for helping me escape the hot emerald eyed tosser, but it was slightly irritating, almost like having your Mother sat next to you to supervise over you.

'You know, Angel, that guys can come within a three foot radius of me,' I muttered on the way out of the Bronze.

'I know, why?' he said lamely.

Uh, hello! Earth to idiot. It seemed that he was quite unaware of the death glares he was currently sending this lad leaning against his car, whose eyes were roaming over me with satisfaction.

'Because my Mom doesn't even glare like that when a lad looks at me,' I said.

Angel cocked his eyebrow as he unlocked the door of his car. He helpfully took the diaper bag and threw it in the back, before helping me into my seat. After securing myself and Angela with the seatbelt, I waited as Angel jogged back to his side of the Jeep. With a slam of the car door and a roar of the engine, we were pulling out of the Bronze car park.

'You're having Angela tonight,' I announced, smirking happily.

For a moment, I thought Angel was going to kill us when his hand slipped from the steering wheel. However he regained his control over it, thankfully just before we swerved into another car that I amusedly noticed to be Darla's, before turning to me with a horror-stricken face as he slammed on the break.

'I know!' I gasped in mock outrage. 'You nearly crashed into _Darla's _car.'

'Really?' That seemed to boost his horror instead of reduce it. 'FUCK!'

His eyes darted instantly back to the road, just in time to see a slutty blonde step out of the pink car before us.

'Great. Now we can spend the whole night listening to her glee on how her one _true_ love nearly crashed into her,' I snorted.

Angel flashed me one more glare – something that he seemed to be doing a lot tonight – before there was a soft clinking sound on the window, probably where her fake nails were tapping along the glass. I let out another snort. As Angel rolled down the window, I began to busy myself with our "daughter."

'Hey Angel,' purred Darla.

I could literally hear Angel gulp.

'H-h-hi,' stuttered Angel, taking a deep breath of air.

I clucked my tongue happily as I fiddled with the hem of the dress Angela was wearing.

'I thought for a moment that you were going to crash into me!' she laughed slightly hysterically.

I winced. If she laughed like that one more time, I would walk home.

'Thank god Buffy was here – she was on the one who reminded me how to drive,' replied Angel.

I was pretty sure that he wanted to alert Darla of my presence in the car, mainly before she sexually assaulted him, because I was almost positive that it was me who nearly had Angel turning us into pretzels. His little trick worked. Darla's eyes snapped up to look at me, staring at me with such revulsion that it seemed impossible.

'Hey _Buffy,_' she spat with deadly venom.

As though Angel was frightened of my response, he quickly apologised to Darla – who was like 'its okay, Angel, you can crash into my car any day' – and wound up the window. Seconds later, we drove around Darla and sped off down the road.

'Stupid whore, we should have decked in her Barbie car whilst we had the chance,' I muttered.

Angel chuckled.

* * *

Finally one splattered squirrel smeared across the road, a crying robot baby, and several arguments later, we arrived home safely and soundly.

As soon as Angel stopped the car, I shoved Angela into his lap. I jumped out of the car and ran over his lawn, jumped over the hedge separating our gardens, and ran like there was no tomorrow to my front door. Noticing that Angel was only just getting out of the car, I hesitated at the door.

'Have a nice night, Angel!' I called.

I heard Angel mutter something under his breath – which was probably something between an insult about somebody's mother and taking the Lord's name in vain.

When I heard his front door slam shut, and Tara scold him loudly for slamming it so hard, I bent down and lifted up the fake rock situated beside my door. Swiping up the spare key in my hand, I laughed mockingly to myself. There was no way that Angel was getting inside my house tonight.

I ran inside, throwing my coat over the banister, and headed straight upstairs, greeting my Mother as she called my name from the kitchen. Starting with the bathroom, I closed every single window in the whole house and bolted them. When Mom finally came upstairs and demanded to know what I was doing, I simply told her that there had been a terrible storm predicted for tonight. Luckily she bought my excuse.

With a smug smirk, I skipped back to my room. I peeled off my clothes, threw them into the corner of my room, where they would remain until I could be bothered putting them in the washing basket, and pulled on a pair of sweats and a tank top. I jumped into my head and snuggled into the covers, embracing the warmth. Whilst I welcomed the comfortableness that was my bed, I slipped the spare key under my pillow.

Minutes later, seconds even, my door opened slowly.

Mom popped her head around. 'Buffy, Angel is going to be staying over tonight.'

'WHAT?!'

Mom opened the door fully, her hands on her hips as she stared me down. 'Now don't use that tone of voice with me, young lady!'

I groaned and flopped back down onto my bed, pulling my duvet over my head.

'Tara and Wesley have a flight at three in the morning. They're going to see Wesley's parents for a few days, remember? Do you expect me to just let Angel stay over there all alone?' Mom questioned, using a tone that suggested I shouldn't even bother to try and argue with her.

'Whatever,' I mumbled from under my duvet.

* * *

'God! You can t-t-tell this child is y-y-yours because it never shuts the hell u-up!' I stuttered.

My teeth chattered furiously as I tightened the jacket around my small frame.

Angel and I were stood out in the garden, at almost two o'clock in the morning, trying to get our _precious _child to stop crying. Angel had suggested we take her outside, despite the ridiculous time, so we didn't wake my Mom up, even though she was dead to the world once she fell asleep. But, before I could voice that, Angel had already dragged me outside into the absolute freezing cold.

Huh, maybe I was right – maybe there would be a storm sometime this morning.

'Now, now, Buff-Buff, you are just cranky because I woke you up,' smirked Angel.

He rocked Angela softly as he watched me cuddle up into my jacket, teeth chattering loudly. Sighing, Angel passed Angela into to my arms and shrugged out of his jacket. He took Angela back and draped the jacket around my shoulders, zipping it up at the front.

'T-t-thanks,' I smiled.

Sometimes Angel could be truly sweet to me. Even though we pulled pranks on each other and cursed each other before we went to sleep every night, I could tell that it had all changed. Maybe parenthood had matured us. Maybe having to look after Satan's baby we had grown up along the way. It seemed odd thinking of Angel as a best friend and not an enemy.

'Just don't stink it up with your flowery girl smell,' he said.

I made a mental note to drench his jacket in some of Mom's smelliest perfume when I got in.

During the time we had been talking, neither one of us realised that Angela was now perfectly content. In fact, we didn't even notice the robotic baby go to sleep.

'We should get inside, but – if you want – you are welcome to stay in the shed,' I offered, grinning.

Angel eyed up the shed at the end of my garden. 'I'll pass.'

'You sure? The spiders could use some company,' I said as we made our way back to the house.

Angel snorted. 'I'll let Xand and Anya know … just in case they ever need to dump their baby somewhere else.'

I laughed. He had a point.

I halted at the door.

It was shut.

'Oh no,' I whispered.

'What?'

'Did you shut the door?' I questioned, turning to face him.

He cocked his eyebrow. 'Yeah. I didn't want a draft to get in.'

I smacked him front and centre on his muscled chest. 'Angel! Curse your fucking kiss-arse ways to be a gentleman! How many times have I told you that the back door only opens from the inside?'

'Oh, shit,' mumbled Angel, rubbing the back of his neck whilst cradling Angela in the crook of his arm.

I smacked him again on the chest.

'Ok, OW! What the hell was that for?' he questioned.

'I didn't want you sneaking in my house again like the other night, so I took the spare front key under the rock up into my room and I've bolted all the windows shut!'

I sunk to the ground, cradling my head in my hands. Angel took a seat besides me, resting the doll in between us.

'Ok, it could be worse,' he tried to soothe.

Suddenly, a rumble of thunder echoed loudly. Then, following straight after as though commanded, rain began to pour heavily.

'You know that was your fault, don't you?' I said.

'Uh huh,' Angel mumbled back.

* * *

**Just a little update because I was bored. And because I love you guys so much for all the great reviews – did I mention how very very very thankful I am? Hope you enjoy this chapter! By the way – Edward Cullen inspired the dude in the last chap! Haha. Anyway, lots of love! x**


	10. Chapter 10

My Mom had found us the next morning, curled up outside the back door, soaking wet. Apparently she had found me leaning my head on Angel's shoulder, whilst Angel's arm had hugged me closer. Thankfully she told me this piece of information whilst Angel warmed up in the shower. You couldn't help how you slept, right?

After I had my turn in the shower and I had found some snug clothes to warm up in – a pair of sweatpants, a tank top and an oversized jumper – I waited in Angel's car whilst he put a fresh pair of clothes on. Humming along to the music, I tied my hair up in a scruffy bun, deciding it went with my 'I don't give a crap about what I look like' outfit. Angel had sneakily entered the car and shoved his keys into the ignition. It was the sound of the engine, roaring wildly like a lion imprisoned in a cage, that had me jumping in surprise. Angel gave me a goofy smile before reversing out of the drive.

'Wait, where's Angela?' I questioned, only just realising the absence of our robotic baby.

'Oh sweet baby Jesus …'

Great, now we were doomed to fail sex-ed. However, even knowing that Snyder was going to call us up about the missing robot, I couldn't help but mentally cheer at the fact that I would never have to take care of that insanely moronic thing again. And I'm sure, judging by the cheerful expression on Angel's face, that he too was grateful that the robotic critter had disappeared. I was that happy that I didn't even question as to where it had gone.

'I'm guessing that Willow and Oz will be the only couple to pass sex-ed then. Faith and Spike are out, we've joined them, and god knows what Xander and Anya's baby has been through,' I said, laughing at the many possibilities.

We pulled up in the school parking lot.

As I jumped out of the Jeep, I noticed something bright red shining in the sunlight from the corner of my eye. I turned slightly and stared in amazement at the polished red Mercedes convertible parked a few rows down from me and Angel. A boy was sat in the front seat; his stylish shades perched on the brink of his nose, his blonde locks blowing in the breeze, whilst he flicked through a magazine, unaware of the many girls staring at him with curious eyes as they passed.

'So, the yummy scrummy new guy has caught your eye to?' said Cordelia, appearing by my side.

I nodded my head slowly, my eyes still transfixed on the new boy.

I could hear Angel clucking his tongue irately behind us, but I ignored him. He could become so jealous and protective within a matter of minutes, like the previous night with the boys who had showed interest at me in the Bronze, and it was beginning to seriously annoy me, much more than it usually did. Deciding that I was sick of Angel's protective crap, I heaved my bag over my shoulder and marched in the direction of the new boys' car.

'Hey, I'm Buffy!' I introduced as I halted besides his car door.

He looked up, lowering his magazine. The corners of his lips tugged up into a smile as he pulled off his sunglasses, bestowing the power of his eyes upon me. They were a grey blue colour with flecks of green. They were soft, beautiful, and they sparkled like two expensive diamonds. His eyes were unlike anything I had ever seen before. Then there was his smile. He flashed a full set of pearly whites at me, causing his eyes to sparkle even more, which gleamed against his beautiful sun-kissed glow skin.

'Hey, I'm Lucas,' he smiled in a thick British accent.

His voice lured me in.

I shook his outstretched hand, smiling warmly at him.

'You're from England?' I asked in interest.

'The accent gave it away, huh?' Lucas said, laughing.

'No, just the totally awesome car you're sat in. I haven't seen a car like this since Cordelia brought her new Porsche,' I replied.

I remembered the many guys who had skipped period one and two, leaving the classes half empty, so they could sit outside besides the new Porsche and admire it. Eventually Snyder had been alerted of the missing students and he all but dragged them back inside by their ears. I knew that if it had been anyone else except Cordelia, someone who's Father couldn't close down the school with a snap of his fingers, then Snyder would have forbidden any sort of flashy cars to come through the parking lot gates again, however he knew it wasn't wise to forbid Cordelia Chase from bringing her car to school.

'Cordelia?' said Lucas.

'Yeah, the brunette chick over there,' I answered.

I jabbed my thumb in the direction where I knew Angel and Cordelia would still be stood, both of them glowering at me – Angel because he was unimpressed with my actions and Cordelia because I had spoken to the new boy before her. I should have known better than to introduce myself to a hot guy before Cordelia, but at the moment I didn't really care.

'Oh. The one stood with the bloke who looks murderous?'

I spun around on my heel.

Lucas was right.

Angel stood besides Cordelia, his hands clenched into tights fists, his knuckles turning a deathly white colour, whilst his narrowed eyes stared at Lucas with a murderous glare, his teeth gritted. His brow was scrunched together, his whole body language screaming that he was indeed furious.

I turned back to Lucas, flashing him a quick smile. 'One sec!'

I dashed back over to Angel, my own anger bubbling heavily in the pit of my stomach. I came to a sudden halt a few meters away from him, my nostrils flaring as I glowered at him. His stance seemed to have relaxed slightly.

'Don't you dare,' I spat acidly.

'Do what?' said Angel.

'Quit the whole protective act, Angel. I'm sick of it! I'm not a little girl and I _don't _need to be looked after!'

And with that, I spun on my heel and returned to the side of Lucas's car.

'So, whose form are you in?' I smiled.

* * *

I sat with Lucas that lunch time. All my other friends, including Angel, sat on the opposite side of the canteen, glaring at me with their watchful eyes. I tried my hardest to ignore the daggers aimed at me from all across the room – I could say for definite that all the girls were going to jump me on my way home from school.

'You're friends don't seem to be happy that you're sat with me,' observed Lucas, taking a swig of water from his bottle.

I didn't need to look in his line of direction to know what he was talking about. I just nodded.

'Especially the intimidating brown haired one. It seems like he wants my guts for garters,' he added.

I chuckled. 'He probably does.'

I liked Lucas – he seemed like a good friend. Except the rush I felt this morning, the rush that had made me want to make Angel jealous, had now worn off and, if I was being honest, I missed him. It had been a day; in fact not even half a school day, but he had become such a huge part of my life that it seemed odd not having him with me most of the time. I felt guilty for using Lucas just to piss off Angel, though he had turned out to be quite a good friend. I was glad that I gone up to him this morning – I had no regrets about meeting him at all. I guess it was one of those girl moments where you don't think about the backlash of your actions.

'Listen, I don't want to come between you and your boyfriend,' Lucas said to me.

I looked up at him with wide eyes, noticing the serious expression over his face.

'We're not- it's not … we're just friends,' I stuttered, shaking my head.

Lucas gave me a small smile before reaching across the table to cup my hand in his. He gave me a soft squeeze, surprising me with his tenderness at someone who he barely knew. I couldn't help smile back softly as he showed off his perfect pearly whites.

'You're so much more than friends,' he whispered, rubbing his thumb across the mine, 'and it's such a shame neither of you can see it. You need to open your eyes, Buffy … better yet, open your heart.'

Was he right? Or was his British accent just overwhelming me? I couldn't be more than friends with Angel … could I?

* * *

'Bloody hell, Niblet, you know how to piss off our Angel dearest, don't you?' said Spike, taking a seat besides me in history.

I sighed and dropped my pencil on my unfinished work, knowing already that this was going to be one of _those _conversations. I gritted my teeth and angled my body to face Spike. With one glance at my face, he was raising his hands palm up as though he was surrendering.

'Easily now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with pissin' peaches off, alright?' he said, lowering his hands. 'Jeesh, you bloody women,' he added under his breath.

'What do you want Spike?' I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face.

'World peace, a deli sandwich, maybe a new car-'

'What do you want that involves me?' I interrupted, not in the least amused by his answer.

'Who is this Lucas, niblet?' Spike asked suddenly.

'A new kid. You're not dense, Spikey, what are you playing?'

Spike smirked. 'Angel's my friend, okay? You're crushing him with your female stupid ways. Neither of you see what's right in front of you.'

For the second time that day, someone had hinted that there is something more between Angel and me. I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed it if Spike had. Angel and I had been pulling pranks on each other since the day we met; making each others lives a complete embarrassment, could you really fall in love with someone who did that to you? The idea of having Angel more than a friend was too overwhelming.

'I don't know what you're talking about,' I said.

'Oh, yeah. You're just friends, right?' questioned Spike mockingly.

'That's right,' I replied, now fiddling with the cap of my pen.

'You're _not_ friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, niblet, its blood...blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least _I'm_ man enough to admit it.'

And with that, Spike rose to his feet and left me alone at the table.

My head and heart went into overdrive as I repeated his words over and over again in my head. I had never heard Spike talk so passionately, so wisely, and it seemed kind of odd that he was talking like that about Angel and I. Were we in love? Were we more than just friends? It did explain why I wanted to make him jealous … why he was so protective of me around other males. Maybe, without meaning to, we both fell in love on the road to where we now were.

Except, thanks to me and my actions this morning, maybe that road had been shattered. Would Angel forgive me for being to spiteful towards him? Could I repair the broken road?

Or had my brain acted before my heart had chance to realise what it was that I wanted?

* * *

I sat in Snyder's office, facing Giles, tapping my foot impatiently. Giles seemed to be focusing on the door, drumming his pencil on top of the desk as though he was trying to irritate me to death. I rubbed my hands over my face, begging the high heavens that Angel would turn up soon, and sighed.

He was fifteen minutes late.

Had he forgotten about our session? Or didn't he want to see me? Surely Snyder knew that he hadn't turned up – he must have gone looking for Angel. After all, Snyder was obsessed with both of us. Whatever was going on, I just needed Angel to walk through the door. I couldn't sit through a full therapy lesson on my own; neither could I wait any longer to see him. It had been a day, nearly a full school day, and after listening to Lucas and Spike, my true feelings finally began to fall into place.

I was _in _love with Angel.

The boy who stuck up naked baby photos of me. The boy whose car I had every member of the school holding onto to win. The boy who had somehow stolen my heart without either of us realizing.

God I wanted to smack myself for sounding so cheesy and romantic.

Thankfully the door opened.

I almost jumped out of my seat in excitement. Though I was disappointed immensely as my eyes found the door.

Snyder, wearing the ugliest suit made possible – it should be illegal for tie like that! – walked in shaking his head, mumbling as he always did under his breath. Yet no Angel was in sight.

'Gone,' said Snyder.

Gone? What did he mean gone? How the hell could Angel have gone? Sure Angel wasn't the best student and he didn't achieve top grades, however I knew he wouldn't have just took off without telling me. Even if we were fighting. He was staying at mine for the next few days – his parents were out of town. Maybe he had gone to my house. He could have possibly fallen ill or something. But I knew that I was lying to myself. Angel was never ill.

'Left last lesson. He was registered in that one but never turned up for last period. This is the final straw – I'm going to have to ring his parents,' muttered Snyder, his eyes darting across the floor.

'His parents aren't in town, he's staying at mine,' I informed.

'Miss Summers, did I ask for your opinion? It seems like you still have no control over your attitude,' Snyder replied.

If I wasn't so concerned about Angel, or if a therapist hadn't been in the room, then I would have come up with a good retort, although I couldn't be bothered. And even Snyder seemed surprised by this.

'Well, if you don't mind Principle Snyder, Buffy and I still have an appointment – whether Mr O'Conner is here or not,' Giles spoke up for the first time since greeting me at the door.

Snyder mumbled something under his breath, something that sounded like "good for nothing therapist", before exiting the room.

I spun around in my chair, staring into space.

'You're worried about Mr O'Conner,' stated Giles, his head cocked to the side as he scanned me.

I nodded.

'And why is that?' he asked.

I shrugged.

'Because maybe Mr O'Conner isn't just a friend?'

He said it as a question, though I knew he was stating it. He knew. From one session of us together – he knew. In fact he probably knew before I did. Now I did feel stupid.

'I wondered, Miss Summers, if you would ever truly see the connection between you. You both feed off each other. You need him to make you feel complete and he needs you. It's quite remarkable for teenagers … but love works in mysterious ways,' Giles explained, nodding his head.

I shook my head, my fists tightening at my sides, as a scream curled up in my throat.

'I can't do this,' I whispered before throwing myself out of the chair.

I grabbed my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and ran out of the door. I ran past Snyder and his secretary, ignoring Snyder's orders to return instantly, and dodged students through the corridors. As soon as I saw the door leading outside, I sped up until the fresh air enclosed around me.

I halted. I breathed in the fresh air through my nose, exhaling through my mouth. I found that the tightness around my chest had ceased more and more with each clean breath of air I took. I bit down on my lip as I closed my eyes, allowing the soft breeze to cool my flustered face.

However, suddenly I could hear Snyder's voice intruding on my peaceful moment.

Tightening the grip on my bag, I began to run again, heading for the school gate that screamed freedom.

I ran through the gate, out of school, and down the street towards the direction of my home.

I was in trouble. Huge, unbelievably painful trouble, though I couldn't find it in me to care at that moment in time.

About three things I was certain …

Number one – Angel had gone.

Number two – I didn't know where he was and when, or if, he was going to return.

And number three – I was completely and utterly in love with him.

* * *

**FIRST UPDATE IN A WHILE! I'M SO SORRY.**

**I know a few people might not like this chapter. What? A new guy starts, Buffy makes Angel jealous, Angel leaves and she realises she loves him in the same chapter? And so soon? Why, yes. I know you like this story because its humour– and it will continue to be so slightly – though I wanted to turn it to drama. I want to give it a bounce. And I hope you don't mind!**

**Please review!**

**Lots of love,**

**Beth x**


	11. Chapter 11

I burst through the front door.

'Mom?' I shouted.

I ran down the hall into the kitchen, almost tripping over my own feet as I went. To my utter disappointment, I found Angela lay on the counter. Seems like we hadn't lost her after all. However, Angela – the robotic baby critter from hell – was the least of my problems. Mom was stood at the oven, stirring something in a pan with a wooden spoon. I charged over to her, slightly disgruntled that she hadn't answered when I called her, whilst wrinkling my nose in disgust at the horrid stench coming from the pan she was currently attending to.

'Mom, have you seen Angel?' I said, forcing myself not to gag.

Mom looked up from her pan. 'Angel who?'

'How many Angel's do you know?' I replied, rolling my eyes at her lame attempt at humour.

'Well, there is Mrs Greenland's Chihuahua, Angel, down the road,' she smirked, returning back to her pan.

I rolled my eyes. Mrs Greenland's Chihuahua was the evilest dog I had ever had the misfortune to stumble across. You couldn't pet it because it'd growl and snap at you before you had even raised your hand. When you wore woolly socks, it would snap at your ankles like a piece of raw meat. I could never understand why someone would name the Devil the name Angel. It didn't make sense. Though, I always thought Mrs Greenland was tapped in the head slightly.

'Yes, Mom,' I replied sarcastically, gritting my teeth together, 'I run all the way back from school to know where Mrs Greenland's dog is.'

Mom chuckled.

'No, seriously, Mom, Angel left school,' I said, letting the serious tone – that was hardly ever used – make her understand why I needed to know about Angel.

Mom turned to me. She wore a confused expression as though I had just given her an extremely difficult math equation. I felt like smacking myself on the forehead.

'What do you mean Angel is _gone_?' she questioned, going into total mother mode.

'Do I really need to give you the definition of gone, Mom?' I asked frustratingly.

Mom gave me a stern look. I apologized half-heatedly.

I jogged into the sitting room, listening as Mom followed behind me. I pulled back the curtains and looked to see both mine and Angel's driveways empty. His car wasn't there. I sighed in irritation as I flopped down onto the sofa, covering my eyes with my hands in attempt to restrain the tears that I knew would threaten to well up if I wasn't careful. I felt the sofa shift under Mom's weight as she wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders. Obviously she hadn't clicked on yet that I had run out of school to come home.

'Have you tried ringing him?' Mom asked, softly rubbing my shoulder.

I felt idiotic for not thinking of that sooner.

I pulled out my cell phone and hit speed dial. I was instantly greeted with voicemail.

'Irritating arse,' I muttered as I shoved my cell angrily back into my pocket.

Mom left me alone to drown in my misery.

* * *

'Thanks Spike … you know, for helping me look for him,' I thanked as we made our way through Sunnydale Park.

Spike shrugged, getting embarrassed slightly that he was being praised, before giving a manly cough and looking around.

The park was deserted under the dim light of the crescent shaped moon. The playground equipment looked eerie as it swayed in the breeze, the roundabout whipping the silence of the night air as it squeaked with every gentle breeze that caused it to turn. The shadow of the trees branches hung over us, wrapping us up in their grasp. A dog barked somewhere on the main road. If it wasn't for the fact that it was Spike who I was with, I would have grabbed hold of their hand and squeezed it for dear life.

'I checked with Faith and them lot, they haven't seen him either,' Spike said, breaking the still silence.

'God, I've really fucked it up with him,' I sighed, running my fingers through my hair as we changed course towards the opposite direction of the park.

'It's not your fault you're an idiot, niblet,' answered Spike.

I snorted. Gee, thanks for the sympathy. Though I should have known Spike was the last person who would have sympathised with me, if I had wanted sympathy then I would have brought Willow – it was her job as a best friend to give me sympathy even when I didn't deserve it … like now.

'Listen, everything works in a mysterious way … don't question the forces of nature.'

I raised my eyebrow at Spike. 'Have you been reading your Mom's magazines again, Spikey? What did I tell you last time – stick to comic books,' I chuckled.

Spike laughed too.

And for a slight moment I was able to forget why I was wandering through a creepy park in the darkness with one of my friends at this time of night. Except, as soon as our laughter died down, the harshness of reality crept back up on me. Angel swam in my mind. I _needed_ to find him.

'ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!'

I almost collapsed in fright as a darkened figure leapt out from behind the bushes, arms stretched out towards us like claws, only a few centimetres in front of me and Spike. Spike jumped back, cowering behind my small frame, clutching my arms tightly and pushing me forward, using me as some kind of shield between him and the unknown surprise.

A fitful of laughter erupted.

I recognized that laugh.

'Faith,' I spat, folding my arms across my chest in anger as I tried to control the rapid beating of my heart.

I felt Spike's hands relax on my arms.

Faith replied with another batch of laughter, wheezing as she bent over double.

'You … Spike … oh my god … Spike … scared … ha ha!' she gasped.

The sudden thought of Spike cowering behind me had me mimicking her laughter. I could almost feel Spike's scowl.

'Ha ha! You are hilarious, peaches! I wasn't scared at all, I was protecting Buffy,' Spike said seriously.

Faith straightened up, running her fingers through her hair, and let out a loud snort.

'Yeah, if protecting B is hiding behind her and using her as a human shield,' she retorted.

I heard Spike huff.

'Anyway, what are you doing here Faith? Or do you usually jump out of bushes to scare people?' I questioned as I began walking again.

'Only on days ending in Y.'

Faith and Spike walked on either sides of me, bumping into me now and again. I could see Spike continuing to scan the park as we had done before Faith interrupted our search.

'Any luck with Angel pie?' said Faith, already fully knowledgeable of the answer.

'We've had as much luck finding him as we have with world peace,' I sighed.

I noticed the shadow of the gates looming ahead of us. We had circled the whole park and had no luck. I knew that, whether I wanted to admit it or not, Angel wasn't going to be found unless he wanted to be. And I doubted he was playing hide and seeking, waiting for us to find him. I just hoped he would come back soon.

'Hey, how about we go spray paint Darla's car a sickly green colour?' asked Faith.

Damn that girl knew how to cheer me up.

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling like absolute shit. Thank God for the weekend. The only reason I could successfully get up out of bed was because of the wailing robot baby on the floor and the happy memories of decking in three whores cars last night. You see, when me, Faith and Spike went to Darla's, we struck pot gold because Drusilla's and Glory's horrible pink cars were also there. I wished I had been able to see their faces when they discovered their new sick green coloured cars with _Whores R Us _– it would have made getting up this morning even more bearable.

'Buffy, Willow's here,' I heard Mom say.

When I looked up, Willow was poking her head around the door. I sat up, motioning for her to come in with my hand, as I clutched my head with the other. Willow smiled sympathetically as she closed the door behind her. She walked over, picking up Angela on her way and stuffing her pacifier into her mouth. She took a seat on the edge of my bed.

'I heard about your adventure last night,' Willow smiled, rocking Angela.

I smiled as widely as capable. To tell the truth, I quite enjoyed myself last night with Faith and Spike – all the badness of the world seemed to disappear for a few hours.

'He's not come back yet?'

I shook my head, letting my hands fall to my sides.

'Maybe his cars broke down or maybe he needs a Sat Nav to find his way back-'

'_Or _he could have joined the circus,' I added sarcastically.

Willow slumped back. I instantly felt guilty.

'Sorry, Will, I'm just tired and pissed and … empty – fuck I sound like a sappy sausage out of shitty romance film,' I apologized, dropping my head back into my hands.

'No, you sounded sappier,' Willow laughed.

I laughed with her. She knew how to make me laugh even when it felt like laughing would be the last thing I would do.

'Buffy, Cordelia's here!' I heard Mom shout from downstairs for the second time today.

Willow and I listened as the sound of high heels clacking against the floor became louder and louder until, finally, the door swung open to reveal Cordelia Chase. I guessed it must have been warm outside because she wore the shortest, brightest dress in mankind with Jimmy Choo shoes, a pair of overly large sunglasses balancing on top of her perfectly sculptured hair.

'Where's Lila?' Willow asked.

Cordelia snorted, flicking her hair back.

Riley had been the one to name their robotic child and Cordelia was obviously less than impressed at the name he had christened their robot with. I guess that she would have dumped him as a partner all together if it wasn't for the fact that Riley let her dress and style their child.

'Riley has her-'

'Like he has the whole time we've had these critters?' I smiled sweetly.

'Hey, Daddy's paying him to keep it. As long as I pass this physco shit then I don't care,' Cordelia replied.

Money _obviously _grew on trees at the Chase household. If I asked my Dad to pay my partner to take care of our assignment, my dad would probably tell me to go to hell. Except Mom and Dad got divorced ages ago and I had hardly seen him since. He was probably married again to a slapper, who probably popped out a few kids.

'Angel still not back?' said Cordelia, leaning against the wall.

I shook my head, taking my bottom lip in between my teeth and chewing it. I soon tasted the horrible taste of my own blood.

'He has to come back, right? I mean, it's your birthday in a couple of weeks – he's never missed your birthday before!' added Cordelia, looking round at Willow to back up her statement.

Somehow the mention of my birthday had me on even more of a downer. Angel missing my birthday was like Christmas with Santa. It seemed totally impossible. He had been at every single one of my birthdays since I could remember. Traditions like this couldn't change – could they?

Sensing she had said the wrong thing, Cordelia began to babble on about a shopping sale she saw on her drive to my house. However, I didn't care about shopping or sales … only Angel mattered to me.

* * *

'I'm sick of sounding like a sap, Xander,' I moaned as I threw myself down onto his sofa.

'And I'm sick of hearing you sound like a sap,' laughed Xander.

He threw his arms around my shoulders, hugging me into his side as his other hand dipped into the bowl of popcorn positioned on his lap.

'But, like I said, a horror movie should be a great way to suck all the sap out of you,' he added.

'Yeah, course it is,' Faith said sarcastically.

The full gang had banded together at Xander's to get my mind off Angel.

'Can we watch Harry Potter?' questioned Anya enthusiastically.

'Harry Potter isn't a horror though,' said Willow, cocking her eyebrow at Anya.

'I don't know,' answered Oz, who was wrapped up in Willow's embrace, 'those Death Eaters can be pretty freaky.'

I rolled my eyes.

'Who cares about the freakin' movie?' Cordelia mumbled, picking at her nails. She was just being a spoilt sport because no one would go to any of the sales with her, thus making her a deprived puppy. What a shame.

Eventually we decided on Nightmare on Elm Street.

Before the movie had even gotten half way through, I was out like a light.

I didn't really like horrors that much anyway.

* * *

**WOW! 19 REVIEWS FOR ONE CHAPTER!**

**I was pretty surprised. But I am ever so grateful. Like insanely grateful. You got me past 100 at ten and I'm so glad you are all enjoying this story. I have to say now that we are going to be deprived of Angel for a few chapters – but I guarantee he will be back! I have so many twists and turns that I can't wait to share with you all! **

**This chapter is dedicated to Kay8abc – who is a new reader yet has left me such an amazing first review that I almost cried in happiness. Thanks so much!**

**Thanks again everyone! And please review!**

**Lots of love,**

**Beth x**


	12. Chapter 12

"So _this _is why you skipped last period today?" questioned Willow.

"Yep," I smiled.

She looked at me as though I was speaking a foreign language. But then again, the more I thought about it, I knew Willow would never understand a reason for missing school, it was something that she wouldn't dare dream of doing. She shook her head, her fiery red hair shining in the sunlight.

"What's its name?" she asked.

Willow ran her fingers through my new puppy's fur. It jumped on her knee enthusiastically, pawing at her chest as it tried to climb up to lick her face. Willow giggled, scratching the black and white Border collie behinds its ear.

"Angel."

The look Willow gave me this time was as if I had lost every trace of sanity. I merely gave her the cheesiest grin I could muster.

"Buffy…"

It had been two weeks since Angel's disappearance. The first week we heard nothing of him and Mom had refused to file a missing person's report to prevent worrying his parents, who had extended their visit to see Wesley's parents. However, on the second week, Tara had rung my Mom to inform her that Angel had arrived at his Grandparents house and was now staying with them. None of the gang received a single text, call or e-mail from Angel himself.

Everyone had been surprised to see how well I was handling the situation. The first week I had struggled, especially as we didn't have a clue where he was, but now I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. And even though it was still unknown to how long Angel would be gone, I found that I honestly didn't care. My feelings for him were starting to fade day by day. And it didn't help that Lucas was being a proper gentlemen and treating me like a man should.

"What? The dog is constantly whining and moaning, so does Angel. The dog is ticklish behind its ear, so is Angel. I sometimes want to kick the dog up the arse, same with Angel," I smiled cheerfully.

Even Willow couldn't help but smirk slightly.

Angel waggled his tail excitedly before pouncing onto my legs. He curled up and fell slowly fell asleep, his ears twitching.

"Has your Mom seen him yet?" Willow questioned, climbing off the bed and standing by the window.

"Nope."

"Buffy, does she know you've bought a dog?" Willow raised her eyebrow.

"Well, she gave me the money … for clothes and shoes, but I thought a puppy was a _much _better early birthday gift!" I grinned.

"She is going to kill you."

"Probably. That or she'll end up loving the dog more than me."

* * *

"So, would you like to show me the clothes you bought with your early birthday money?" Mom asked that evening.

I gulped. "Yeah, sure."

Rising from my seat, I headed out of the sitting room and up the stairs, listening to Mom's footsteps echo mine. My head went into overdrive as I tried to put together some mastermind plan. And, when I came up with nothing whatsoever, I reminded myself why I shouldn't skip classes.

I tried to drag on the journey to my room but if I went any slower I wouldn't be moving at all. I just had to be cool about it, play dumb with any questions that arose, and keep my fingers crossed. Angel wasn't in my room as I figured this would happen. Willow had left ten minutes before I expected Mom to be home, I gave her his lead and some poop bags and told her to take him for an extremely long walk with the gang. My best friend was a life saver.

When I threw open my wardrobe, I began picking out clothes that I hoped she had never seen before. I couldn't tell if she believed this or not, her face was just emotionless as I flashed every article of clothing quickly before her eyes. When I couldn't be bothered finding anymore clothes, I shut the wardrobe and turned to face my Mom.

"Show me your hands," was all Mom said.

"Excuse me?"

"Your hands."

I held my hands up. Mom nodded.

She turned and walked out of my room. Confused, I followed her down the hall and into her bedroom. As soon as I entered her room, I noticed she was looking at her bed. I followed her eye line of direction…

"Oh fuck," I muttered under my breath.

I began to back out of her room.

"Come back."

If she didn't sound so stern and mother-like I probably would have ignored her.

"You don't have paws, Buffy," Mom said.

"Only at the full moon," I mumbled sarcastically.

"So when I saw these dirty paw prints all over what used to be my clean bed sheets … well, I kind of guessed it wasn't you."

"You never know nowadays," I smiled.

"Very funny. So where are you hiding it?"

"Hiding what?"

It was at that moment that the door opened. The voices and laughter of my friends broke the silence.

"NIBBLET! We've brought your pooch back. Don't worry, we let it have a shit in Angel's front garden before we came here," shouted Spike.

I winced. I regretted the day my Mom ever told them to just walk in instead of knocking. Curse Spike and his complete idiocy. I should have known someone who skipped as many classes as he did couldn't use their brain and think before shouting something out that would get me in deep trouble and possibly grounded. What a clever arse.

Mom strutted out of the room without saying another word.

"I wish I didn't have friends," I muttered as I followed behind.

I made a quick stop at my bedroom first, hiding any valuables that my Mom might attempt to confiscate as part of my punishment, and took a moment to pray, before I shuffled to my doom downstairs. Except, when I eventually made it downstairs, Mom was sat on the floor with Angel in her lap, allowing him to lick her face. And … she was smiling and laughing.

"Oh, Buffy, he's beautiful!" she laughed as he began nipping at her ears.

"Ooops," Spike mouthed from across the room.

I just rolled my eyes.

"What's his name, honey?"

"Angel."

"What about him?" Mom questioned.

"No, Mom, that's the dogs name," I smirked.

"Charming. You seriously have some issues," Mom said.

"Well I got them from somewhere," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

* * *

Willow and I curled up on the sofa that night, sharing a bowl of popcorn, whilst Angel lay loyally on the floor next to us. Even though it was a school night, we were still up and alert at one in the morning, chomping on our food and watching different genres of movies.

"Buffy, when do you the person Angel, not the dog Angel, will be back?" questioned Willow.

"I'm not sure, Will," I mumbled, trying to keep my eyes focused on the television.

The conversation was dropped then. And I breathed a sigh of relief. An unrecognizable pressure was lifted off my shoulders.

* * *

There was a small, muffled yelp.

"Buffy…" Willow said warily.

"Niblet, please tell me you don't have your pooch in that bag," Spike finished, eyeing my bag.

"Maybe."

Willow, Spike and Faith groaned, rolling their eyes.

"B, you have to leave it at home sometime," said Faith.

Faith's words seemed distant as I stood frozen in the car park, staring at the car that rolled in and parked up a few cars down. I would recognize that car from anywhere. I would always associate it with him. Instantly, I turned around and walked away, without muttering a single word to the others. I knew they would understand.

He was back. Angel was finally home.

* * *

**Hey guys!**

**I am so sorry it has been so so long. It sucks, I know. I'm trying to recapture my interest in writing, especially as I am now looking at colleges and wanting to pursue my passion for English and writing – High School has gone so quick!**

**Anyway, thank you for the reviews and your constant love for this story. It warms my heart.**

**I have a question … I have experienced quite a lot in the past year and it made me wonder whether to turn this into a darker story? It would include the topics of drinking, smoking, self-harming and many others thing. Or would you prefer things to remain light and fluffy with humour and a medium amount of drama? Your choice, you're the people I write for! Let me know!**

**And I promise to have a much longer update next time!**

**Lots of love,**

**xxxx**


	13. Chapter 13

I sat in the hallway, my new puppy curled up in my arms, as I sighed miserably. When I had arrived to form, late again, my mind had been so active with the thought of human Angel that I had forgot about dog Angel. The poor thing needed air and began barking pleadingly as soon as I sat down at my desk. It didn't help that when my form tutor asked me to switch off my phone and said that I desperately needed to change my ringtone I started laughing like there was no tomorrow, distressing Angel even more. My dog and I were sent to sit outside for the rest of registration. The class provided us with a beautiful version of "Who let the dogs out" as we left.

"Idiots," I muttered as the bell rang.

I rose from my uncomfortable seat on the floor and began walking to first period with Angel tucked under my arm. He yelped and whined the whole way to class, resulting in lots of shocked and surprised stares. I began to realise that bringing him to school had been a bad idea after all; nevertheless there was nothing I could do now.

"Angel, will you just shut up?" I hissed as he barked again.

"Wow, I didn't even have to say anything and you're already telling me to shut up."

I froze.

Angel appeared beside me, smirking. Had he always been that tall? I looked up at him slowly. There was a glow in his face, a twinkle in his already beautiful eyes, and a smile that shone like the brightest star in the night time sky. He looked so happy, so peaceful. The anger and pain that he had caused seemed to be melting away. Without realising, I leaned into his embrace and breathed in his scent. He wrapped his muscular arms around me, hugging me back, whilst resting his chin on the top of my head. I began to see it, what everyone else had always seen, the love that had blossomed between us.

"Angel –"

A small cough interrupted my confession.

Angel released me from his grasp, looking slightly sheepish. We turned to find a tall black-haired goddess standing behind us. I tried to stop my jaw from dropping. The girl was tall, shorter than Angel yet much taller than me, and she seemed to have literally a perfect figure that girls everywhere probably envied. Her black hair was glossy, spiralling and curling down her back, not a stray hair out of place, and she had massive bright brown eyes with beautiful long eyelashes. All in all, every boy who passed her in the hallway had stared at her like she was a walking talking pot of gold.

"Buffy, this is Alyssa –"

"His girlfriend," she decided to add.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled.

An awkward silence hung thickly in the air, though Angel the dog decided to break it by growling furiously at Alyssa. Trying not to laugh, I hushed Angel quiet and placed him cosily back into my bag.

"Cute dog. What's it called?" Alyssa asked.

Oh, great … because this wasn't going to be embarrassing.

"Buffy Summers! Here. Now."

I never thought I'd say this but thank god for Principle Snyder, the fat man from hell. Flashing quick smiles at Angel and Alyssa, I turned on my heel and headed towards Snyder, who looked as though he was ready to strangle me.

"What is that in your bag?" he barked.

"A pen, pencil, notebook … my lunch … a ruler-"

"Don't play stupid with me; I have been informed of the little flea-infested _thing_ in your bag."

"Hey! Angel doesn't have fleas," I replied, stroking the small Border collie's head that poked out.

Snyder wrinkled his nose as he looked at Angel. If I was being completely honest, it should have been Angel wrinkling his little wet doggy nose at him. I knew this wasn't going to end well.

"You have ten minutes to remove yourself from this campus," Snyder snarled, before stomping off down the hall.

"Would you ring a cab for me then please?" I asked.

"Well done, Miss Summers, you can now make that five minutes to get yourself off of these premises!"

He disappeared around the corner.

"Oh boy … my Mom is going to kill me," I sighed.

* * *

"God, what were you thinking taking a dog to school? Have you lost your mind?" Mom moaned, rubbing her forehead.

"Looks like it," I muttered.

She shook her head, disappointment forming in her eyes. I had to admit that she looked extremely tired nowadays and lacked a lot of energy, not to mention the constant headaches. I knew that the stress I caused probably didn't help and I felt a sudden wave of guilt hit me forcefully in the pit of my stomach. Mom must have noticed the guilt show on my face as she soon changed the topic.

"So, Angel's back," she said.

I nodded.

"Have you talked to him?"

"Yeah… and his girlfriend," I answered, trying not to sound bitter.

In all honesty, I knew I had nothing to be bitter about. Whilst he had been gone, especially during the second week, I had been losing all the feelings I held for him and began classing him as the enemy. I'd even named a dog after him. I knew that I couldn't just have him all to myself just because he was back. I couldn't help that his scent, handsome looks and charming personality had drawn me back in, conjuring up the feelings that I thought had gone for good, but it was wrong of me to expect anything to happen between us just because of that. Angel had moved on, he had gotten himself a new girlfriend, and it was something that I had to deal with, whether I liked it or not. I realised the sinking feeling in my stomach was what he must have experienced when I started talking and flirting with Lucas. I felt bad now.

"I thought you didn't like him anymore?" Mom questioned gently.

"I don't."

"Buffy… when a girl is still friends with a boy she's had feelings for, she either still loves him or never loved him at all."

With that, she went upstairs for a nap, leaving me trapped in my own thoughts.

* * *

"I told you it was a bloody stupid idea to bring Santa's Little Helper to school!" said Spike.

"Will you stop calling him that? He's not from The Simpsons. He's called Angel."

"Niblet, my best friend is called Angel. I honestly can't take it seriously… how many times I've left Angel go crap on Angel's front yard sounds weird or saying Angel has fleas … it's just bloody stupid," Spike replied, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket.

I rolled my eyes, asking myself why I had rang Spike, out of all people, to come out with me to walk Angel. Maybe my Mom was right … maybe I am losing my mind.

"Have you met Alyssa yet?" I asked to spark up a conversation.

"So that's why Peaches asked me to come out," Spike smirked, blowing a puff of smoke into my face, "you wanted the hot gossip of Angel-cake's new girlfriend…"

"No!" I denied quickly. Too quickly.

Spike raised an eyebrow as he dropped his cigarette to the floor and stamped it out. "Liar."

"Pfft!"

"You can 'Pfft' me all you want Peaches, but I've known you for a long time."

Damn him.

"Fine. Where did he meet her? Was that the purpose of his trip? To go pick up some girl off the street and have her as a girlfriend? Pretty pathetic that, isn't it?" I spat, slightly surprised at the sudden anger bubbling in the pit of my stomach.

Spike stopped, a darkened look forming in his beautiful blue eyes. He didn't look impressed and all signs of his bubbly familiar self were slowly draining away as he took a step towards me, lowering himself so he could look at me straight in the eye.

"_You _know Angel just as well as I do. He is _your _best friend just as much as mine, so don't you dare talk about him like he's shit on your shoe. Angel has self respect, morals and has been brought up just as well as you have. You're just angry because you lost him … well get over it! You missed your chance, move on... he has."

With that, Spike turned on his heel and disappeared into the night, never looking back. I watched him go. Angel began to bounce up at me, moaning and barking, but I couldn't even find the energy to tell him to shut the hell up. Finally, when the shock and surprise drained from my face, I composed myself and began to walk home, much to the pleasure of my little Border collie.

As I walked, I realised something...

"God, I hate it when Spike's right."

* * *

I lay in bed the next morning, staring at my ceiling with blurry eyes, as the minutes ticked away. Angel was curled up at the bottom of my bed, much to my displeasure, and I began to wonder why I had even wasted money on buying him a basket. Although he hadn't woke me up barking, so I decided not to kick him off this time.

"Buffy?"

Mom poked her head around the door. Her hair was dishevelled and huge bags, which looked almost like purple bruises, hung heavily under her eyes.

"Yep?"

"Principle Snyder rang-"

"Oh, YAY! Excitement!" I muttered sarcastically.

"- and he said that you are expelled for the remainder of the week and will resume your sessions with Mr Giles when you return," she finished, closing the door behind her.

"Well I'm so thrilled he's given me something to look forward to… oh, wait, he hasn't."

* * *

**Thank you so much for the reviews! It means so much to me and encourages me to write better and quicker.**

**I've decided to keep the story light, funny and fluffy with hints of drama. I'm still trying to find my feet in this story again, so I'm going to re-read it later and try to progress with it. **

**Enjoy!**

**xxxx**


	14. Chapter 14

If Snyder thought expelling me for a week would make me suffer, he was certainly correct. I hadn't expected to be almost dying of boredom, especially as I moaned every single day about going to school, but yet sitting on the sofa and eating cheese balls for six hours a day instead had lost its thrill after the first two days. And when I had tried to escape, my Mom had decided to ground me in order for me to grow up and learn from my mistakes. Usually I would argue back, throw a beautiful teenage tantrum, though Mom looked weaker every time I saw her, which frightened me tremendously.

"Mom, is everything okay?" I asked.

She looked up from the pile of work scattered across the coffee table and tried her best to give me a reassuring smile.

"Of course I am, honey," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sixteen, not six."

She chuckled. Though her smile suddenly turned into a grimace and she began to rub her head. "Just these daft headaches and the constant feeling of sickness," she sighed.

"Go get some sleep, Mom, you can do your work tomorrow," I ordered, taking the role of the parent.

She gave me a soft smile before rising from her seat. She swayed slightly, looking as if that one small movement had exhausted her, before shuffling out of the room, though not before she pressed a kiss to my forehead and told me how much she loved me.

"I love you too," I replied as the worry churned in my stomach.

* * *

Monday soon came rather quick, much to my pleasure, and I was back at school like usual. Nothing seemed to have changed much … I was still late to registration, Faith still argued with every single teacher, and Snyder still stalked around the school campus like he was the president. Nothing seemed to have changed, except from one thing…

Angel didn't accompany me to therapy. It was just me, on my own, with Doctor Giles, getting my stupid little mind evaluated… on my own.

"Why isn't Angel here?" I asked… for the fourth time.

Giles sighed, though politely replied "I've been asked by Principle Snyder to spend a few lessons with just you, after that then Angel can return."

"Lucky me," I muttered sarcastically.

I slouched in my chair and sighed. I couldn't help the frown that automatically spread across my face, no matter how much I tried my hardest to smile, and, before I had time to compose myself, tears had pooled in my eyes as well. I tried to wipe them away swiftly, especially before Giles saw, but I hadn't acted quickly enough…

"What's wrong, Buffy?" he questioned, his voice laced with sympathy.

There was something in his voice that made me cry even more.

"I … don't … know," I sniffed.

I calmed down, taking deep breaths, and waited until I was sure no more tears would fall from these eyes. Finally I felt as though I could speak again without a gush of tears pouring down my face. It took only two words to sum up how I felt…

"I'm sad," I whispered, a final tear rolling down my cheek.

* * *

Finding no energy to do anything, I spent that night in bed, staring at the blank television opposite me. Mom was also in bed, though she was fast asleep as she'd spent the previous hour crying because of her unbearable headache. It was unusual to see my Mom so vulnerable and weak, I'd always thought of her as invincible.

My phone began to vibrate loudly on my bedside table. I grabbed it, almost turning it off, until I realised it was Faith ringing me. Faith rarely rang anyone, she was too lazy for that.

"Hello?"

"_Me, you, Spike and a few bottles of Vodka… you up for it?"_

"Faith, it's a school night," I replied.

"_So? That's never stopped you before," _she sighed.

"Mom's ill… it's not fair."

"_Come on, B, it'll make you feel better!"_

I chewed on my bottom lip, considering Faith's offer for a moment. I couldn't bare coming back a drunken state when Mom needed me the most. Remembering all the sacrifices Mom had made to keep me happy and healthy, I decided to politely decline Faith's request.

"_Don't worry, we'll save you some," _Faith said before hanging up.

I dropped my phone on the floor and curled up in bed. My act of responsibility left me feeling proud, as though it made up for my irresponsible mistakes in the past. A moment later Angel jumped on my bed and snuggled up into my side, looking up at me with his wide eyes. I tickled him behind his ears. Angel decided to return my loving gesture with a big sloppy lick from my chin to my forehead.

"Urgh! Get off me. You stink," I said as the strong smell of fish invaded my nostrils. "Have you been eating cat food again?"

Mrs Robinson, an old widowed lady who lived next door, often put cat food outside for any strays that found their way into her garden. Unfortunately for the strays, Angel often found his way into her garden through a hole in the bushes and ate it all himself.

"You make it look like we starve you, you greedy little dog." I rolled my eyes as I placed him gently on the floor.

It wasn't long before Angel found his way back onto my head, giving me another dose of his disgusting cat food breath.

Just as I was considering to lock him in my wardrobe, there was a knock at the door.

Deciding it was too much effort to get out of bed, I shouted "Come in!" instead.

Angel walked in.

My jaw dropped.

"You might catch flies if you don't shut it soon," Angel laughed as he took a seat on the edge of my bed.

I had forgotten how beautiful he looked when he laughed.

Angel – the one with a tail and fur – jumped out of my lap and ran out of the room.

"What are you doing here?"

It felt difficult to be so close to him, knowing that he wasn't mine. We had hated each other for so long, or so we had made out, and played so many pranks on one another, but I couldn't put my finger on when we had fallen in love. Now it was too late. He had a girlfriend and I was forcing myself through the "moving on" process.

"Can't I come round to see you without a reason?" he asked.

"Oh," I mumbled, edging away from him.

He seemed to notice this from the corner of his eye and frowned disapprovingly. He shuffled closer to me, although his frown deepened when he realised I had also shuffled across.

"What's your problem?" he questioned irately.

"Well I have a few maths problems I need to solve for fifth period tomorrow-"

"Don't try to joke out of this."

I shrugged my shoulders, pretending to have no idea what he was talking about.

"You've changed so much," he muttered under his breath.

"I've changed?" I growled, leaping off the bed. "I'm not the one who disappeared without saying bye to my friends! I'm not the one who didn't contact one of them to let them know I was safe! And I'm not the one who came back with a girlfriend that looks like Kim freakin' Kardashian!"

"Don't you dare bring Alyssa into this!" Angel leapt off the bed too.

"Why not? I mean, let's be honest, she's just a rebound anyway."

"From who?"

"Me!"

Angel laughed bitterly. "And what a mistake you were."

The pain felt like hundreds of knives penetrating my heart. Angel's eyes softened and his face twisted into a look of regret and sadness as he realised what he had said.

"Buffy, I didn't mean that. I –"

I walked to the door and opened it. "Get out and don't bother coming back."

"No, wait-"

"Get out," I hissed venomously.

His next plea died on his lips and he shuffled out of my room.

After I'd locked the front door behind him, cursing him with a million and one different words, the hurt set in. Tears gathered in my eyes and my stomach churned. I crawled back upstairs and got into my Mom's bed, snuggling into her side for the night.

* * *

I decided I wouldn't let a douche bag with a name like "Angel" get me down. So, instead of grovelling and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to drown my sorrows in a bottle of vodka.

I met Faith in the morning as she usually preferred to go for a cigarette and a chat instead of going to first period. Disguising the vodka in a Coca Cola bottle, she handed over the remains of the vodka in a bottle to hide in my bag.

"If you get caught, you're not my problem B..."

"I would never dream of blaming you," I said.

"Five by five. I'm off for my cig now."

I waved goodbye to Faith and departed for first period, deciding to take a massive gulp of vodka before I got there.

Getting the vodka had distracted me from the fact that I shared first period with Angel today.

"Great," I muttered sarcastically, taking another large gulp of the vodka.

I charged through the door, stashing the Coca Cola bottle in my bag along with the other litre bottle of vodka, and took my seat next to a hesitant looking Angel.

As soon as I took my seat, his nose wrinkled and then his eyes widened.

"You've been drinking?" he whispered.

I ignored him, deciding it was for the best, and turned my attention to the front of the class. I should have known that Angel wouldn't let it go that easily.

"I know you're hurt and I'm sorry... I didn't mean it ... but don't be stupid!"

I didn't answer him.

After ten minutes of silence, he leant over once again.

"Please, Buffy, I beg you to get rid of the beer. You know Snyder will kick you out again if he finds alcohol on you," Angel pleaded.

He reached over for my hand, though I jerked it away before he could touch me.

"Please," he whispered once more.

His final plea was no use.

* * *

**FINALLY – AN UPDATE! **

**I forgot how much I enjoyed writing this one! I will try to squeeze a few more updates in!**

**Silly Buffy. You'd be surprised how many people bring alcohol in at my school and disguise the liquid in Coca Cola bottles. **

**Please review and let me know what you think! I hope I still have my readers!**


	15. Chapter 15

"Oh, pet, sometimes I do worry about your sanity," Spike sighed sympathetically, his fingers gripping my elbow.

I laughed childishly. "I sometimes worry about the colour of your hair. Are you sure you're not gay?"

His grip tightened momentarily, causing me to yelp out in pain, before softening again, his fingertips massaging the skin around my elbow. I scowled at him.

He hauled me down the corridor and told me to keep my trap shut in case Snyder magically appeared from thin air. I rolled my eyes, proudly declaring that even my drunken state wasn't afraid of him, though Spike cut me off before I could finish. Continuing to drag me, his fingers digging into my elbow, he pulled out his phone with his free hand and began to text.

"Textin' ya Mommy, Spikey?" I giggled, trying to peer over his arm.

"No... And you should be lucky I'm not texting yours."

I attempted to punch him in the chest, though the attempt failed miserably. I huffed childishly before tripping over my feet. Before I could even straighten up, Spike had released his grip on me and pushed me into the opposite direction, where another pair of strong arms circled around my waist.

"She doesn't seem as bad as we feared," he announced.

"Who are you talking-" I looked up and froze.

The look he gave me was one a disappointed parent would give to their child after going against their wishes. It made my blood boil.

"Get off me!" I growled.

"Calm down, you're being stupid," Angel whispered, obviously realising we were attracting a crowd.

"I'm a stupid girl, right? I'M A MISTAKE, REMEMBER?"

My attempts to break free became desperate and urgent, as though my life depended on it. His grip tightened for a minute, causing me to thrash around wildly in his arms, until finally his arms disappeared and I found myself free from his embrace. I stumbled forwards, the effects of the alcohol making my head feel cluttered and confused, before standing motionless between Angel and Spike.

"Don't." Angel's voice was barely a whisper.

"DON'T WHAT? Don't love you? Well I'm sorry, I can't help it," My voice trailed off until I was just staring at him.

The bell rang loudly, signalling it was time for last period.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as I walked past him.

* * *

I breathed a sigh of relief as the bell rang for the final time that day. Collecting my textbooks, I rose from my seat and left the room without speaking a word to anyone. On my way out of school, I threw the vodka into the bin.

I enjoyed the peaceful walk home on my own; it was something I didn't experience often. As I turned the corner, I noticed Angel and Alyssa walking hand in hand ahead of me. Their gleeful laughter was a stab in the heart.

"Bastard," I muttered.

"Well that's not very nice."

I chuckled as Lucas appeared beside me, waggling his finger mockingly at me. "Naughty girl!"

"I can't help it; the whole thing just frustrates me so much!"

Lucas nodded understandingly, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, staring ahead of us at the couple. It was just at that moment when Angel turned around, his eyes fixated on Lucas and I. His brow furrowed and his smile faded slowly from his face. I recognized that look...

Jealousy.

It was the look that stained his face whenever I was with another boy... well, before he disappeared and got with Alyssa. But it was there, once again, and it gave me a spark of hope.

"He doesn't love her," Lucas said.

"How do you know?" I quizzed.

Angel turned back around, his head dropping.

"I remember the first time we met and he gave the exact same look then as he just did now... he's still as crazy about you as before."

A smile slowly crept upon my face. I wrapped my arms tightly around Lucas's waist and hugged him, which was my attempt - without words - at letting him know how grateful I was for him. Even though it was my foolish mistake of flirting with Lucas purposefully in front of Angel's face that had caused this mess, Lucas had proved himself to be a loyal friend and had become an important part of my life now. It had been years since I let myself become this close to a boy, as I held a lot of resentment against the gender after my Father had bailed out on me and my Mom, but Lucas had now joined Angel and Spike in becoming a strong male figure in my life.

"You know what we should all do?"

"Skip school, become homeless, but then win the lottery and run for President?" I questioned.

"Maybe next summer," Lucas laughed, rolling his eyes. "We should all go camping!"

My face dropped. "OH YIPPEE! An opportunity to let all our feelings out about each other and then get axed in the head by them when we've gone for a piss in the bushes?"

"You've obviously watched too many horror films. No, it's an opportunity to get drunk and let all our feelings out about each other!" winked Lucas, waggling his eyebrow suggestively.

"And then get eaten by cannibals that wander about the woods at night?" I asked, smirking.

"Seriously... you need a life!"

I stuck my tongue out at him.

* * *

"HAHAHAHAHA! Camping?" Cordelia laughed as she filed her nails.

I rolled my eyes. I had to admit that I had expected this reaction from Cordelia, right down to the way she laughed as if we were actually joking. When she finally quietened down, she held out her hand, inspecting her nails with her fierce eyes, before looking back up at me.

"Oh, were you being serious?" she questioned.

"They were," Riley clarified for her, stroking her hair lovingly.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped – she literally looked shocked. She turned to Riley with wide eyes, her nail file clattered to the table. I heard Angel and Spike snigger.

"ARE YOU INSANE!" she finally shrieked.

"How dramatic," Alyssa muttered from her place beside Angel.

Cordelia eyes darted to her. "Listen newbie... I don't like your tone, shut it."

Willow and I swapped amused glances. Angel, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed by it, not even when Alyssa turned to him with unimpressed eyes. Angel shrugged and she rolled her eyes. Not one to enjoy awkward silences, Xander picked up where the conversation left off.

"So, let me get this right, you want us to go camping for a week in the woods... where there are bears?"

"Pretty much, yeah," replied Lucas.

"Then I have to agree with Cordelia... Are you insane?"

"I think it'd be pretty cool out in the wilderness," Oz smiled.

"Will there be beer?" Faith asked, drumming her fingertips along the table.

I rolled my eyes as Spike's eyes sparkled at the mention of beer. It didn't surprise me that Faith wanted to know if beer was involved, how else would she be entertained surrounded by only trees?

"If you want beer, bring beer."

"Five by five," smirked Faith as she leant back in her seat with a satisfied look on her face.

By the time everyone left, the trip was set to take place in two weeks time. Spike and Faith only decided to come because of the limitless amount of alcohol they could consume, Cordelia had been forced into it by Riley, Willow and Oz thought it would be nice to get away, and Xander wasn't given the choice because Anya had already accepted the invitation. It was only Angel and Alyssa who didn't put any input in during the meeting.

Everyone seemed reluctant, especially Cordelia, though I was hoping to prove them wrong once we arrived there.

Just as I was about to collect the soda cans and empty pizza boxes, there was a knock at the door. Looking at the mountain of rubbish littering my dining room table, I shrugged and gladly headed for the door instead.

"What do you want?" I questioned coldly.

"Can I come in?"

I hesitated for a moment, considering whether to tell him to go to hell or not, before opening the door fully and stepping aside. He awkwardly shuffled inside, making sure he kept his distance from me.

Awkward moments irritated the heck out of me, so I cut to the chase. "What do you want?"

"To tell you I'm sorry," Angel murmured.

"Yeah, I've heard," I replied, nodding my head.

Silence fell upon us. It didn't take long for him to break it...

"Oh, come on! This isn't us, Buffy. We've been friends forever, best friends even-"

"Back when I looked at you like a brother," I interrupted bitterly.

The stupid pranks seemed forever ago, a time that I should have cherished more because they were the times when I was truly happy. I could remember sitting up at night, piecing together my next plan to get back at Angel.

"I'm tired. Can we do this some other time?"

Angel frowned before opening the door and stepping out into the night. He walked down the path and disappeared into the darkness.

"I forgive you," I whispered.

* * *

**IT'S BEEN FOREVER! I am so sorry. But THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! I am ever so grateful.**

**I've finished High School a few weeks ago so I have more time now to update. YAY!**

**I know it's short but I have work tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep as I am nowhere near a morning person.**

**Please review and let me know what you think! **

**Take care.**

**xxx**


	16. Chapter 16

"Are you just going to ignore him forever?"

"That's what I was planning on doing, Lucas," I replied, tying my hair up into a ponytail as we approached the school entrance.

"I don't understand girls... they make my brain hurt," he muttered, rubbing his temples.

"You have a brain?"

He stuck his tongue out at me and gave me a playful shove. I enjoyed his company, much to Angel's displeasure, because it reminded me of the bond Angel and I used to share, before I got us into this stupid mess. I just hoped my feelings for Lucas would remain platonic. The last thing I needed was to fall in love with my other best friend and risk losing him as well as Angel. Well, at least I could always rely on Spike; the probability of falling in love with him is extremely slim, which I find extremely comforting for some reason.

"You both remind me of a crap soap opera. You're clearly meant to be but you just won't admit it. You bunch of idiots."

I wanted to remind Lucas that Angel had labelled me as a 'mistake' and, even though it was weeks ago, the pain in my heart was only just recovering from his cruel words. I didn't know how much power Angel possessed over my emotions and how easily he could break my heart with such few words.

"I'll see you at lunch, yeah?" Lucas said, giving me a heavy-handed pat on the shoulder before disappearing through the sea of students.

Before I could even take another step, Faith and Spike swooped in on either side of me. I tried my hardest to look pleased at the sight of them, though I was in no mood for their patronizing words of wisdom today. I knew Spike just wanted to see me happy again, which he decided to do by replacing Angel as the dominant male role in my life, but, despite how grateful I was, his attempts were extremely exhausting now.

"How are you today, pet?" he questioned, casually placing his arm around my shoulder and stroking my arm.

As much as Spike had proved himself as being a good friend, there was something in tone that made me question his motives instantly.

"What's going on?" I said, choosing to ignore his attempts at buttering me up.

"Nothing's going on, love. Just wanted to see how my favourite girl-"

"I know something has gone on, Spike, so don't play dumb with me. Spill!" I interrupted, pulling away from his grasp.

I stared him firmly in the eye, watching for any flicker of emotion that could give me some sort of hint to what was going on. His face remained impassive though.

"Everything's five by five, B," Faith replied.

There was something in her tone that told me she was lying. It's almost as if she had to force the words out, as though they had been scripted and she had no other option but to go with it. Faith wasn't usually one to hide the truth, in fact she enjoyed being blunt and to the point, no matter how much she made others feel uncomfortable by her brutal honesty. But why was she lying now? What made her turn her back on her brutally honest charm?

"Please, Spike, please," I said, locking my eyes on his.

We stared at each other for a few moments. I begged him with my eyes, refusing to embarrass myself by pleading with him in the middle of a busy corridor. I could see the battle playing in his eyes. It was evident that he was torn between two sides, weighing each side equally, yet he never took his eyes off mine through this battle. Eventually, with a strong sigh, he made his decision.

"He's leaving."

"Who?" I asked, cocking my head to the side as I puzzled over his words.

"Angel. He's leaving with Alyssa, Buffy, and he's not coming back."

* * *

Angel wasn't leaving. He couldn't be. How could he just pack up and leave? His family and friends were here. I was here. Surely he couldn't actually be leaving… for good.

Apparently, from what Spike had told me, Alyssa's parents had decided against their daughter permanently living at Angel's house, even though they were good friends with Angel's Grandmother. After a huge argument between Alyssa and her parents, it was decided that she was to move back home, whether she wanted to or not. By the time Angel had found out, Alyssa had already spoken to his parents and suggested Angel move in with his Grandmother, who only lived five minutes away from her parents' house. Alyssa's argument was clearly affective because Tara and Wesley, despite their reluctance, decided to leave the decision up to Angel.

I could help but wonder, as I paced up and down my room, what Alyssa had said to them. Why had Tara and Wesley let Angel decide whether to leave or not? Surely they could force him to stay, whether he was old enough to make the decision himself or not. Would my Mom let me move to my Grandmother's and leave behind my old life? I don't think I could leave her whether she wanted me to or not.

I couldn't make sense of the whole thing.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Mom asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Have you heard about Angel?" I said.

She sighed. "I have. I spoke to Tara this morning."

I was relieved that my Mom knew as I hoped she would now be able to help me understand the whole thing.

"I don't understand," I said, flopping down onto my bed. "Why isn't Tara stopping him?"

"She thinks it will be good for him," she replied, taking a seat next to me and wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

"How? How will taking him away from his friends and family be good for him?"

I couldn't hide the anger in my voice.

"She's not taking him away, honey. He's leaving. It was his choice. Tara and Wesley have decided to see how it goes and, if everything goes smoothly, they are going to move up there as well."

"Permanently?" I questioned, trying to control the steadiness of my voice.

"Permanently," Mom echoed, sighing sadly. "They think it would be nice to have a fresh start… for their new baby."

I couldn't help but smile. Tara was pregnant. Despite the news with Angel, I couldn't contain my excitement for Tara and Wesley, who were such amazing parents, and the new baby who was growing inside her stomach. And then I remembered how Angel expressed once how he craved a sibling to protect and cherish. I guess he was finally getting his wish.

"You should go speak to him, Buffy, before it's too late," Mom advised, giving me a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"And say what?" I asked, unsure about how to approach Angel after everything we've been through lately.

"The truth."

* * *

I paced up and down the front porch. I couldn't seem to muster up the courage to go over and knock on his door. The butterflies flapping around my stomach were unbearable and I was just about to go back inside when his front door opened.

Angel stepped out, clearly oblivious to my pacing and distress, and headed towards his car, twirling his keys around his fingers. I noticed how muscular he looked and felt the sudden urge to run my fingertips across his body.

"Snap out of it!" I scolded myself.

He clearly heard me talking to myself because he looked up, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. I was relieved he already knew what a strange individual I was, although it didn't make the situation any less awkward.

"Hey," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

I chose to ignore his greeting and cut straight to the chase. "You're leaving?"

A range of emotions flashed across his face; surprise, frustration, pain.

I stepped closer to him, deciding that I preferred the conversation to remain private rather than discussed over the garden where everyone could hear. He mirrored my actions and also stepped closer, clearing his face of any emotion that previously lingered there.

"I am," he said, refusing to break the eye contact.

"Why?" I blurted out.

He broke the eye contact and looked down to the floor, shuffling his feet awkwardly. He didn't answer immediately and I started to wonder if he even knew the answer himself. Though, before I could voice my opinion out loud, he suddenly looked up.

"Because I don't have anything to stay for anymore, do I?"

It was a question rather than a statement. He was relying on my answer to guide him in the right direction. If I told him to stay, he would. If I told him to go, he would. It all came down to the next few words out of my mouth. I suddenly felt the pressure creeping up on me, choking me with its claws as they wrapped around my throat. Maybe it was better for Angel to go and have a fresh start, make some new friends, try new experiences. How could I hold him back, especially knowing that his departure could result in a better future for his unborn sibling? Or was it possible to be selfish and force him to stay? I could finally get Alyssa out of the picture and pursue a relationship with Angel.

"Do I have a reason to stay, Buffy?" he asked.

Minutes ticked by. I knew my time was running out. I had to give an answer.

"No."

* * *

**I bet you couldn't believe your eyes when you saw an update!**

**I'm back. For good this time.**

**I want to say thank you so much for your support with this story. It is quite wacky but life is boring without a bit of quirkiness and drama!**

**Stay tuned!**

**Take care xxx**


	17. Chapter 17

"You said _what_?!"

The looks I received from my friends only confirmed what I had already been thinking – I had gone mad. Lucas looked ready to tear his hair out, one by one, whilst I was sure Spike was edging closer in order to strangle me with his bare hands. I honestly considered letting him just do it, to end the dramatic misery that was my life, but I knew my mother wouldn't be impressed if she had to drag my dead corpse out onto the curb in front of all the neighbours. She'd probably curse my soul to hell herself if she had to deal with my mess again, if she hadn't done so already.

"I said no," I repeated for the third time.

"But, Buffy, you lo-"

"Let's not go there with the L word, Will," I muttered, dropping my head into my hands.

I felt Lucas massage my shoulders and I looked up at him, staring at him straight in the eye. I knew I could always find honesty in his blue orbs. I could see the concern shining there, almost as if he was silently begging me to reconsider my decision, but I merely shook my head and allowed myself to lean into his embrace. I didn't realise that this simple gesture would remind me of all the memories I had shared with Angel. It had been so long since I had last enjoyed his presence that the happiness I associated with him was slowly diminishing, leaving me with nothing but memories. And I realised, in that exact moment, that I had made a mistake.

"I'm an idiot."

"Glad you're finally seeing sense, love," Spike smiled, patting me on the back patronisingly.

I stood up and shrugged on my jacket. "I'm going to get him."

"WHAT?"

"Oh, give up! I don't need your crap now. Lucas, can you drive me?" I asked, giving him a look that meant he had no choice anyhow.

He rolled his eyes, fully aware of what my look meant. As he shrugged on his jacket, I took the keys from the sofa and headed for the door, leaving behind my friends and their bewildered faces without another glance. I knew they would probably still be here when I arrived back anyway.

Lucas followed me out of the door, shouting his goodbyes and then jogging down the driveway to catch me up. He flung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I smiled at his gesture, knowing it was his way of showing his support. I was relieved to have his approval because I wanted him to stay and not feel the need to disappear into the background because Angel was going to be back. Something told me he wouldn't leave anyway, not now, not after everything we had shared lately. I just hoped Angel would accept Lucas as easily as I had and not hold any resentment towards him for developing a bond with me. I wouldn't put it passed Angel to get jealous but I prayed he had learnt something from this experience that would force him to consider his approach to other men in my life. After all, he was my best friend as much as Lucas was.

"Can we stop for food first?" Lucas grinned.

I rolled my eyes. Did this boy seriously think about anything over than his stomach?

"Sure… Not like we have places to be."

"Oh, phew, that's good because I can hear McDonalds screaming my name!" he laughed, pulling out of the driveway.

I pulled out a scrunched up piece of paper from my pocket and handed it to Lucas. I had asked my mom to give me the address of Angel's grandma's house, not even bothering to question her as to why she had it in the first place. I guess my mom and Tara shared more than I was aware of – just like Angel and I used to. Before the melancholy set in, I reminded myself that I was going to drag his cocky ass back to Sunnydale and back into my life, reclaiming the friendship we once shared and possibly pushing it further. Picturing Angel as my boyfriend just felt so right now. It was almost laughable now that we 'hated' each other's guts a few months back, pranking each other every day in order to see who was best at pissing who off. It was scary thinking about how much had changed.

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" I whispered.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Seriously? I think you were stupid enough to let him go in the first place, Buffy, especially as he was pretty much begging you to force him to stay. It's shocking that you're _that _blonde to not even notice!"

"Don't think I won't break your arm just because you're driving," I laughed, giving him a light punch in the arm.

Before he could even reply, my heart froze. It all happened in slow motion. The car on the other side of the road was swerving all over the place, crossing over into our lane and then back into its own. It was obvious that the person behind the wheel was either intoxicated or just couldn't drive at all. I tried to point it out to Lucas but the warning died on my lips.

It was too late.

The car collided with ours before I could even yell at Lucas to pull over. Our car skidded across the road and flipped over as we hit the pavement. I could feel the blood trickling from above my eyebrow, my seat belt cutting into my skin, and I attempted to raise my hand to press it against the wound but darkness slowly crept up on me. I wanted more than anything to check on Lucas and make sure he was alright but I couldn't fight the overwhelming struggle between staying conscious and drifting into unconsciousness.

The last thing I pictured was Angel's face. The boy I loved. The boy who would never know just how much I did love him.

* * *

**I bet some of you think I have no clue what I'm doing. I don't blame you. I know this seems so random but that's the whole point. I'm eighteen years old and, if I have learnt anything since becoming a teenager, it is that life is so unpredictable and your teenage years are just a jumble of one thing after another. **

**Hope you liked this update. At least Buffy isn't being stubborn anymore!**

**I'm considering writing a new fic soon so stay updated!**

**Lots of love X**


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